PLANS for a £1.5m youth and community centre in Mirfield are on track after being backed by planners.
The ambitious project for the Gilder Hall Youth Club site in Greenside Road had been delayed because the land was earmarked for homes.
But council approval was given yesterday after a town hall meeting heard about the project's overwhelming community benefits.
The scheme is being backed by Mirfield's most famous son, Star Trek star Patrick Stewart.
He got a taste for the stage at Gilder Hall in the 1950s and is patron of the fundraising appeal.
The 62-year-old star returned to his roots in April to stage a one-man show at Dewsbury Town Hall in aid of the fund.
Fundraising is still going on, but Kirklees Council's planning and highways committee was told yesterday that there was a realistic prospect of the project becoming a reality.
A committee report said: "The community benefit that would be realised outweighs the need to retain the site for future housing development."
The club fell into disuse after a fire about seven years ago.
It has since been condemned as a danger to children who scale fences to play at the site.
The site - a building and three acres of land - was left in trust for the boys of Mirfield who had lost their fathers in the First World War.
Mirfield spinster Annie Robinson gave the land and building, a former malt kiln, in 1923.
The scheme now has to go for Government clearance because it is a departure from the planning blueprint for Mirfield.
A more detailed planning application could then be submitted to Kirklees Council.
Backers of the project say building would then start in about a year.
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