PLANS for a £50m extension to the Kingsgate shopping centre have been recommended for refusal by Kirklees Council planning officers.

A report before next Thursday’s Huddersfield planning sub-committee meeting will urge members to turn down the so-called Kingsgate 2 scheme – because it would jeopardise the council-backed Queensgate development scheme.

Now Kingsgate owner WD Huddersfield has threatened to appeal if the application is rejected – arguing that there are no good reasons on planning grounds for turning it down.

The officers’ report said both Queensgate and the Kingsgate extension would be competing for the same national retailers.

But it argued: “There are very strong grounds to suggest that the emerging Queensgate scheme provides wider benefits for the town centre than the proposed Kingsgate extension and therefore has the greater opportunity to safeguard the vitality and viability of the town centre and to claw back lost trade.”

The report said the benefits from Queensgate would include a larger number of shop units, a better market hall, a large department store, better links with existing retail areas in the town and opportunities to provide a new library and information centre.

It claimed the only benefit from the Kingsgate extension would be seven new shop units, which were likely to be mainly occupied by businesses already trading in the town.

But Kingsgate owner WD Huddersfield Ltd said plans for Queensgate had not been made public and the council had produced no evidence of retailer demand or interest from developers.

He argued: “The only reason Queensgate is being looked at is as a solution to the disrepair of three council properties – the library, the art gallery and the multi-storey car park.”

The report reveals that Marks & Spencer is set to sign a deal as anchor tenant for the Kingsgate extension. The retailer is understood to be keen to move its operations at New Street and the Piazza Shopping Centre onto a single site.

The issue is further clouded in that Kirklees has a 14% stake in WD Huddersfield as a result of its ownership of Oldgate House, which would be demolished if Kingsgate 2 goes ahead.

WD managing director Peter Everest said: “We are surprised and disappointed at the approach of the council.

“It appears that our scheme is largely being recommended for refusal on the basis that we have successfully secured a major national retailer.

“Surely this only goes to show the viability of our scheme and the need for new units now? We are in a position to act now, while waiting for Queensgate – which is at least 10 years away – risks losing national retailers to out-of-town units or out of the town completely.”

He said councillors were being asked to reject the Kingsgate scheme without being able to make a fair comparison with Queensgate.

“The plans for Queensgate are still under wraps, so Kingsgate is being compared to an unknown quantity,” he said. “We urge the council to publish their plans for Queensgate and allow the public to debate the merits of both schemes.”

Mr Everest said if the Kingsgate scheme was rejected at next week’s meeting, WD would appeal against the decision, adding that he was confident the company would win a public inquiry on planning grounds.

The report to councillors also argued that the design and size of the Kingsgate proposal “on the edge of Huddersfield town centre” was not in keeping with the character of the town centre or surrounding buildings.

But Mr Everest said: “We were asked by the council several times over the past two years to look at different versions of the scheme and to consider versions much bigger than this one. The scheme we are proposing is much smaller than Oldgate House, which would be demolished. Would people prefer to keep Oldgate House? Nobody we have spoken to wants to keep it.

“Kingsgate is an attractive, natural stone clad building which does fit in.”

Mr Everest said Kingsgate could hardly be criticised for being “edge of town” – within the ring road – when the council was supporting plans for a new Tesco store outside the ring road.

He said the Kingsgate extension had been designed to meet the town’s immediate demands for new shopping without generating oversupply or taking trade away from the rest of the town.

“There is also the question that if one of the major developers is turned down, what message is that to send out to other investors? We are a major investor in he town and this is a major investment.”

New shopping centre would create 400 jobs

Kingsgate 2 would provide a 120,000sq ft extension to the existing Kingsgate shopping centre. It would include a 75,000sq ft department store and retail units for six major new stores. WD Huddersfield claims it would bring more than 400 new jobs to the town.

Features would include a new single level trading mall with two-level stores linking to the existing centre. The existing car park would be extended to add another 190 spaces, bringing the total number of parking spaces to 1,000.

The new phase would be built behind existing shops in Cross Church Street and to the rear of the Army Careers Office and the Parish Pump pub in Kirkgate. The frontage of the Society nightclub – formerly Shout – would also be retained while Oldgate House would be demolished

The Queensgate Revival project is set to bring about changes to the Piazza and surrounding area. Plans include space for a major department store, 160 new shops, cafes, bars and restaurants, 170 residential flats and a 100-bed hotel.

A new library and art gallery would be built at the corner of Princess Alexandra Walk and Peel Street, while the existing library would be refitted for shops and leisure facilities. The market hall would be modernised and an open space provided between the town hall and New Street on the site of Ramsden House, which would have to be acquired for demolition.

Other features would include a footbridge to the university and an underground car park with 1,350 spaces in place of the multi-storey car park.