Designs for a new supermarket on the edge of Huddersfield town centre have been unveiled.
The Examiner revealed last month that the mothballed Kirklees College site at Castlegate had been earmarked for a new Lidl store.
The German firm has now lodged its official application to demolish some of the buildings and build a 1424 sq m (4272 sq ft) supermarket with 162 parking spaces.
Almost half the site, dubbed Trinity Central , would be dedicated to the store which would back onto Castlegate.
The other half of the site bordering Portland Street and Fitzwilliam Street will be developed later.
Discussions so far have indicated a medical centre, care home and housing could be built.
Lidl has said it will close its other store on the ring road, overlooking the Chapel Hill junction, and move staff to the new one. The overall size of the workforce will double from 13 to more than 20.
The store will be open for trade between 7am and 10pm from Monday through to Saturday and from 8am and 8pm on Sunday and bank holidays.
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It is hoped it will open by the end of 2017.
Mark Sexton, design and build co-ordinator at Wiggett Construction Group Ltd, said: “We are excited to have submitted our plans for the first phase of the redevelopment of this important site for the town.
“The replacement Lidl store would provide an improved shopping experience as well as creating around 20 new local jobs – and importantly it acts as a catalyst for the regeneration of the rest of the site.
“We will have discussions with the council over the coming weeks about our plans and hope to receive a decision on phase one early in the new year.”
The former Kirklees College site
Drawings submitted to Kirklees show access would be through the current college entrance at the foot of Trinity Street.
A new pedestrian access would be created close to the subway under the ring road.
The firm behind the scheme has said it will retain the Grade 2 listed Huddersfield Infirmary building but some of the other old hospital buildings will have to go.
The hospital moved to its current site in Lindley in 1966.
The defunct college site incorporates 10 buildings ranging from the old hospital complex to modern blocks of classrooms.
A public consultation was held about the plan at the Irish centre but it has emerged that only 30 people attended and just six people filled in feedback forms giving their views on the Lidl proposal.
The planning application will be decided by councillors on the strategic planning committee in the new year.
