A new supermarket will be included in plans to revamp the mothballed Kirklees College site.
The Examiner understands German store Lidl is in talks to take on a large slice of the abandoned former Huddersfield Technical College on New North Road.
A developer is currently moving forward plans to regenerate the site that has been disused since the college moved to Chapel Hill in 2013.
It is thought they will go public with the proposals – dubbed Trinity Central – later this month with a view to getting the green light in 2016.
The 6.1 acre plot was sold to Oldham-based Wiggett Construction Group for an undisclosed sum in December last year.
The plans are thought to be three-fold – a supermarket, some kind of care or medical facility with the final portion currently unallocated.
Speaking at a Kirklees Council meeting on Wednesday, regeneration chief, Clr Peter McBride, said he hoped the application for a “medium sized supermarket” would be lodged in the new year.
Lidl currently has a store only a few hundred metres away on Castlegate. It has a second newer outlet on Wakefield Road at Aspley.
It is thought the firm would close the store opposite to Huddersfield Fire Station.
Clr Andrew Cooper, who represents the ward, told councillors: “There will be no net increase in the number of supermarkets as a result of this.
“One will open and one will close.
“It will not be like the super Sainsbury’s, it won’t impact on shopkeepers in the area... so it’s not as bad as the (Tesco) proposals that were there for Southgate.”
Mark Sexton from Wiggett Construction Group, who bought the land last year, said: "Negotiations are ongoing with potential operators for the former Kirklees College site.
"We hope to be able to make an announcement in the coming weeks when we will be consulting with the local community on how this important site could be regenerated.”
The Examiner understands the main heritage building on the site would be retained for the care/medical proposal.
But some of the old hospital buildings from when the site housed Huddersfield Infirmary, would have to go.
Take a look at the former college site as it stands
The site incorporates 10 buildings ranging from the old hospital complex to modern blocks of classrooms.
Part of the site has been used as a temporary car park.
The plan for a new supermarket comes less than a year after Tesco pulled out of a deal to build a huge store on the old sports centre site at Southgate.
Kirklees Council has revealed it will demolish the sports hall and 15 other buildings in March next year.
