Huddersfield Castle Hill hotel plan set to go ahead

The plans for a cafe and hotel look set to be approved

A plan to build a cafe and hotel at a Huddersfield landmark looks set to go ahead after a request for a government review of the scheme was rejected.

The proposed development at the historic Castle Hill site was approved by Kirklees Council last October.

Huddersfield Civic Society opposed the plan and asked Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick for a call-in review.

Mr Jenrick said the decision "should be determined by the local planning authority".

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The council owns the freehold of the land formerly occupied by the 1850s Castle Hill Hotel, and developers Mick and Barry Thandi are tenants on a 999-year lease.

The developers pay rent of just £7.63 per annum on the site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Mr Jenrick's decision now means the Thandis have the go-ahead to develop the land.

The site houses the 1890s Victoria Tower, described by architect Kevin Drayton of One17, who drew up the new plan, as "the premier heritage asset of Kirklees and certainly the most prominent".

The history of Castle Hill

Victoria Tower was built on the summit of Castle Hill in 1897

• Castle Hill is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in Almondbury, Huddersfield

• It houses the Grade II-listed Victoria Tower

• According to Historic England, the site includes the remains of a late Bronze Age or early Iron Age univallate hillfort, a later Iron Age multivallate hillfort, a 12th Century motte and bailey castle and the site of a deserted medieval village

Sources: Historic England/LDRS

He added: "The public benefits of the scheme are enormous in themselves but they may be the catalyst that sparks a beneficial wave of general regeneration."

Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman applauded the plan, and said he had always been in favour of "the right kind of development" at Castle Hill.

He said: "I can now see Castle Hill becoming one of the top 10 most visited spots in the north of England."

Huddersfield Civic Society said it was "disappointed and troubled" by the decision.

A spokesman said it "flies in the face of current and proposed planning policy" aimed at protecting green belt and environmental and heritage assets.

He said the development still needs Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England, which the group would continue to lobby against.

Historic England has already told the LDRS it was not in favour of the Thandis' plan.

However, Kirklees Council said: "We've received the Secretary of State's decision not to call in the decision made at Strategic Planning Committee. We will now issue the decision notice for the application."