Hillside houses with two front doors
Around Huddersfield, and up the Colne and Holme valleys, many old houses are built into the slope. The Colne Valley Museum in Golcar is set in “Spring Rock”, four cottages put up in the 1840s by the Pearson family of independent cloth makers. They were “built into the steep hillside”, with the front entrance to the lower rooms and the top floor entered from the back.
Historic England’s listing for a cottage in Kirkburton calls the long stone mullioned window on the first floor “a distinctive feature of the domestic weaving industry of West Yorkshire of the C18 and early C19”. Across Kirklees, 31.5% of households live in terraced houses (England 23.0%) and 22.7% of dwellings were built before 1900 (England 15.1%). Sources: Census 2021 and the Valuation Office Agency’s Council Tax stock for 2024.
On houses like these, the questions are which door things leave by, how many steps there are and how far it is to the van. Tell us about access on the quote form, and send photos of the front, the back and the stairs if you have them.
Kirklees tips won’t take waste you have been paid to remove
So a friend with a van can’t take away clearance rubbish if they’re being paid for it. Kirklees lists two things its sites prohibit: “Waste from rented properties brought by landlords” and “Waste you have been paid to remove”.
To use a Kirklees site you need a vehicle permit, set up through a My Kirklees account, for up to two vehicles per household. Vans under 3 tonnes need a large-vehicle permit. Trailers up to 6 ft, single axle, are allowed; vans over 3 tonnes, box vans, tippers and dropsides are not. The four sites:
- Huddersfield: Emerald Street, off Hillhouse Lane, HD1 6BY
- Dewsbury: Weaving Lane, off Thornhill Road, WF12 9QR
- Meltham: Bent Ley Road, HD9 4AP (closed Monday and Tuesday)
- Upper Cumberworth: Bromley Farm, HD8 8NN (closed Wednesday and Thursday)
Checked October 2026 against the council’s waste sites page. If there is furniture or china in the house you think might be worth something, ring us for a free verbal valuation before anything goes in a van.
Bulky collections in Kirklees
Kirklees will collect bulky items from houses in its area, for a charge. The council quotes £11.66 for each standard bulky item, up to 6 items per order, and £31.80 for each sofa, settee, recliner or mattress. Kirklees Passport holders pay half.
The council’s own staged advice lists using a private company before its collection, with a set of checks to make first (it calls them the SCRAP code). A bulky collection takes things away. A valuation tells you whether anything in the pile was worth selling in the first place.
Checked October 2026 against the council’s bulky waste page.
How far is it from our saleroom?
Huddersfield town centre is about 13 miles from Armley as the crow flies, and about 18 miles by road: the M621 and M62, then the A644 and A62. If you’re not sure whether your address is within reach, ring the office on 0113 250 2626.
Where reusable things can go
Kirklees points residents to Revive reuse shops for items that are still usable, at 8 Upperhead Row in Huddersfield and 64 Commercial Street in Batley. What we can’t sell at auction is cleared responsibly or donated.
Our clearances in Huddersfield
After a death in Huddersfield
Many of the houses we are asked about are being cleared after a death. If you are clearing a home for an estate, have the contents valued before anything is cleared, and sell or give away nothing of value until the person dealing with the estate agrees. Our page on probate house clearance explains how the valuation, the grant and the clearance fit together. This is not legal advice, and a complicated or disputed estate is a job for a solicitor.
How our clearance works
Anything that will sell goes into our fortnightly Saturday auction in Armley, and the proceeds come back to you after fees; what won’t sell is cleared responsibly or donated. A clearance is chargeable, but what sells may cover or reduce the cost (more on how our clearance works).
Questions about clearing in Huddersfield
Can a friend with a van take the rubbish to Emerald Street?
Possibly, for a small amount, but check the permit rules first. Every vehicle needs a permit, a van under 3 tonnes needs a large-vehicle permit, and vans over 3 tonnes, box vans, tippers and dropsides are not allowed. Anything someone is paid to remove is prohibited, so the council’s current rules are worth a read before anyone sets off.
Does Kirklees collect bulky items from the house?
Yes. Kirklees collects bulky items from domestic properties in its area, and charges per item. The prices we have seen are set out above, with a link to the council’s page for the current figures.
We also clear homes in
Banner photograph: “Huddersfield Railway Station (1).jpg” by Tony Hisgett, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Huddersfield station is Grade I listed, built 1846 to 1850 and designed by J. P. Pritchett.
