THE future is bright for Huddersfield landmark Castle Hill!
At least, that's the view of Huddersfield architecture students when it comes to designing solutions for the town's most prominent landmark.
Beams of light, illuminated screens and Huddersfield's very own "eye" were some of the ideas postgraduate students at Huddersfield University came up with as part of a project about how Castle Hill should be developed.
The historic site, home to the famous Victoria Tower, built in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria's jubilee, hit the headlines earlier this year when work on the Castle Hill Hotel was halted amid concerns it was not being built in line with planning permission.
Kirklees Council stopped developers Thandi Partnership working on the site in May and ordered the building be demolished by January 11.
Today four architecture students presented their visions for the site, including projected images of old Huddersfield onto the tower and a night-beam to serve as a beacon for the monument.
Student James Mills, 24, said: "These proposals try to respect what is already there to set a precedent for the future.
"The Castle Eye is bold but if they are going to put something up there it has to be obvious.
"The band of illuminated screens was another idea which would wrap around the top of the hill and change colour to show different moods.
"The night beam would use light as a beacon. We thought that would work because the hill is essentially a beacon for Huddersfield."
Claire Parker, 23, explained another idea.
She said: "We could use the tower by projecting images onto it.
"Old images of Huddersfield would be good, or you could change the theme at different times of the year."
She believed the controversial development would need careful consideration.
She added: "It has to be right and I think we all agree if you put something up there it is going to compete with the tower.
"So if you are going to do that it has to be something bold like the Castle Eye."
Richard Fellows, Huddersfield University's head of creative technologies including architecture, said: "Castle Hill is worth a lot of money to Huddersfield because it is a symbol of the town.
"For the sake of tinkering around with cheap solutions it would be a good idea to invest in it because it is worth it."
* The hill rises 900 feet above the surrounding landscape
* 4,000 years ago was home to Neolithic tribesmen
* Celts fortified the hill in the Iron Age
* It was the site of a beacon in 1588 - warning of a feared invasion by the Spanish
* The beacon was still there in 1804 when Napoleon was the threat
* A pub was first built on the hill in 1812.
* The Jubilee Tower was built to mark Queen Victoria's 60 years on the throne
