Let’s Go Huddersfield had the chance to sit down with Dave from Marsh Design as part of our series “In The Know” Read on for more!
Can you tell us a little bit about Marsh Design’s work/background and your role within it?
We are structural engineers based in Huddersfield. Marsh Design was established in 2002 and it’s been my full time business since 2015. Over the last ten years, we’ve grown significantly and we’ve gone from just being me, the sole director and owner, to having a team of five engineers plus admin staff. We help local homeowners and businesses improve their homes, adding space by doing structural designs for loft conversions, extensions and plenty of other projects. We’re very lucky to work alongside some great local architects on projects and the overall results can be fantastic.
What is Huddersfield to you?
I’m born and bred here and it’s my home town. I grew up in Golcar and then moved to Marsh and now Lindley. It’s a great town, the people are very friendly and it has some great history and architecture.
How has Huddersfield helped Marsh Design?
It’s a small town and everyone knows everyone. If our customers feel we’ve done a good job, they might recommend us. That word of mouth has certainly helped us grow as our work is centered around the Huddersfield area.
What change would you like to see in Huddersfield?
I’d like there to be more community-focused projects. The Station To Stadium project with Huddersfield Town Club’s involvement is a really good example. I think the council could learn a lot from a lot of local businesses, how they work and the expertise that Huddersfield has to help drive some initiatives forward. There’s a lot of knowledge, experienced contractors and professionals that could really help move the town forward.
What keeps Marsh Design in Huddersfield?
It’s purely the reputation we’ve built here and our portfolio of longstanding clients who still use us. We’re very much focused on the domestic and residential sector and I don’t see us moving out of Huddersfield because our target market is and always will be here.
Is there anything that Marsh Design does to give back to Huddersfield?
We’re involved in a few projects with the sponsorship of local events and sports teams. We’re currently the main sponsors of Outlane Cricket Club and we’ve helped Holmfirth Cricket Club with a couple projects. We also sponsor Netherton Football Club. We sponsor various local events and festivals and every month some of our team volunteer at the Welcome Centre. Last year, we helped with Uniform Exchange as well. Huddersfield has been fantastic to me and my family over the years so I’m really grateful to be able to give back to this town.
How has Huddersfield shaped Marsh Design’s work?
I think as a business it’s helped us stay humble, honest and offer value where we can. My previous employer instilled in me the saying: “Fair day’s pay for fair day’s work.” Although it is important, profit isn’t the biggest thing for us, it’s about slowly building the business and offering a great service.
What do you think Huddersfield’s future looks like?
I think Huddersfield has a very bright future! With a little bit more creative vision, it has potential to be massively improved. Making St George’s Square the focal point of the town by making it pedestrianised would bring a lot of unused buildings back into use through retail, leisure and accommodation for the town centre as well. Once you’ve got a destination for someone to come to then everything else will fall into place.
Another thing would be a coming together of organisations like Let’s Go Huddersfield to pull in the same direction and share knowledge and skills. The more people we can involve in the movement towards a better Huddersfield, the better it’s going to be for the town.
