Cable car plan for leisure site may be revived

The proposals to transport shoppers quarter of a mile on 16-seat gondolas from the Galpharm Stadium to the Media Centre on Southgate and back have been discussed by top-level officials.

The idea for the town was first mooted when plans for the 100m HD One shopping and leisure complex were being developed. It was dropped from the final planning application – approved in January – but may be revived at some point within the next few years.

HD One will see 51 acres of unused land around the Galpharm developed into a huge complex including 147 apartments, a 144-bed hotel, a ski slope, a casino, 21 bars and restaurants, a surf simulator, 10-pin bowling alley, two nightclubs, a music venue, offices and a bingo hall. It will create 900 jobs.

Building work is due to start in 2012.

Kirklees Council leader Mehboob Khan said he was "personally supportive'' of the plans. He said: "My first reaction was – how is this going to work and is it of benefit to the town?

"I think local reaction will be polarised – people will either love it or hate it. As a council we have been asked for our opinion and we are supportive.''

The proposal for the complex has been submitted by Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd (KSDL) and they hope to have the scheme in place by 2015.

Laurence Antill, co-leader of the project, said the cable cars would cost millions and it was unclear where the funds would come from.

He said 3,000 people could be transported per hour and it could be used to transfer football fans from the town centre to the stadium on match days.

Ralph Rimmer, the former managing director of the Galpharm, was one of the people behind HD One.

He said the cable cars would take a couple of minutes to travel one way – with a cost to travellers of "a couple of quid".