THE first maps of a revolutionary plan for Huddersfield have emerged.

The Examiner can reveal maps showing the scale of the so-called Northern Gateway, which could transform a huge swathe of the town from the edge of Birkby to the M62.

Thornhill Estates has drawn up the plan which includes:

Some 841 new homes

Offices covering 355,000sq ft of floorspace

Some 10,000sq ft of new shops

A 60-bed hotel

An eco-centre covering 20,000sq ft

A 60-bed care home.

The landowner claims the development will bring £180m of investment into Huddersfield and create 1,532 jobs. But a leading campaigner last night said the Northern Gateway development would bring “carnage” to the town.

The Examiner has seen a copy of a 42-page document drawn up by Thornhill Estates setting out the plan to develop the 260-hectare site.

The company owns the vast majority of the land which includes Grimescar, Huddersfield Golf Club and parts of Ainley Top.

See page 2 for a link to a bigger version of the map and area for proposed development.

Most of the site is currently green fields and Thornhill claims 85% of the land will still be undeveloped if the Northern Gateway goes ahead.

According to the document, a new business park near Ainley Top roundabout would help cut the number of Huddersfield residents who work outside the town.

The report said: “Kirklees Northern Gateway (KNG) could play a vital role in retaining the existing workforce within the district and encouraging those ‘out-commuters’ back.”

Thornhill Estates claims a business park based around Brighouse Road would “form a strong urban edge” to Huddersfield and “improve public perception of the town”.

The landowner believes the development would support Huddersfield’s manufacturing industries – which employ 20% of the Kirklees workforce.

The report claims: “KNG can support and assist manufacturing in the region by providing accommodation for existing manufacturing companies’ business space needs.”

Shops would also be set up around the business park, including a “signature” store of 30,000sq ft. Thornhill also hopes to attract a sandwich bar, dry cleaners and coffee shop to the area.

The landowner also wants to build more than 800 homes in the area, ranging from six-bedroom detached homes costing nearly £600,000 to one-bed flats selling for £79,000.

The homes would be built around Grimescar Road and would have “a distinctive village character with a central square and supporting retail and public functions”.

Click here to view a larger, zoomable map.

Thornhill’s plan also includes upgrading Huddersfield Golf Club at Fixby.

Work would include:

A new hotel and spa

Improvements to the course to eradicate steep walks and sloping fairways

A nine-hole academy course for beginners

A nine-hole pitch and putt course

A golfing academy, including a 300-metre driving range

Planting trees to obscure the view of Fixby Waterworks and pylons

Creation of woodland walks, cycle routes and bridleways.

The Thornhill report also spells out plans for a 60-bed hotel diagonally opposite the Cedar Court Hotel.

But the report says: “Due to the number of hotels in the immediate vicinity, a hotel operator may not show interest in the site until there is a greater mass of development.”

Thornhill hopes the first phase of the Northern Gateway could begin by 2014, with work being completed in 15 to 20 years.

The landowner is believed to have submitted the document to Kirklees Council as part of consultation on Local Development Framework (LDF).

The controversial blueprint could see 28,000 new homes in the district by 2028.

Deighton man Bill Armer, who is campaigning against the LDF, criticised the Northern Gateway plan yesterday.

“I find it horrifying,” he said.

“If you put this alongside the Lindley Moor plans you get a gigantic ribbon development.”

Mr Armer added that the building plans would lead to “carnage” in Huddersfield.

“This is coming very, very close to linking Huddersfield with Elland, which itself is nearly linked to Halifax,” he said. “You would have a massive conurbation which would be dreadful.”

Mr Armer added: “I have a five-month-old great-granddaughter and she won’t know what green grass looks like. We’re ripping everything up with no regard for the generations to come.”

The Examiner asked Thornhill Estates if it would like to comment on its Northern Gateway document. The landowner said it had nothing to add from a statement it issued last week.

It read: “Kirklees Council is in the process of replacing its Unitary Development Plan with a new Local Development Framework. This offers landowners and developers the opportunity to put forward land not currently designated for development for future consideration.

“At this stage, nothing has been designated by the council. We, along with numerous other landowners and developers, have put forward representations for inclusion in the new Local Development Framework.

“We are asking the council to consider land holdings for future allocation, but no decision has been made by the council and consultation is ongoing.”