Akroyd had bought the 62,435 acres of land in 1855.
Scott's original plan to have dormer windows in the cottages was unacceptable to members of the Akroyd Town Building Association, and Akroyd employed local architect – W. H. Crossland – under the supervision of Scott, to come up with an acceptable design. The plan was for a quadrangular arrangement of 350 houses, but only 90 were actually built.
The large central park was opened on 29 April 1876, and the Cross monument – a memorial to Akroyd – was designed by Barber.