A CIRCUS is rolling back into Huddersfield for the first time in two years.

Kirklees Council’s Licensing Panel has granted permission for the Chinese State Circus to set up in the town.

The show will be staged at the car park off King’s Bridge Road and Commercial Street, overlooking the River Colne. It will be held for five days in May.

The Entertainment Corporation, which represents the circus, applied for permission to set up at the site after being unable to use its usual location, Greenhead Park, because of its £5.4m regeneration project.

The circus last came to town in 2008, when it hit the headlines after causing damage to the park as it removed equipment from the fields.

The company then struggled to find a suitable replacement venue before finding the Commercial Street site, for which it had to apply for a premises licence.

Councillors received one objection, from Mr Steven Morley, who lives at the 1535 apartment complex at the corner of Queen Street South and Firth Street.

He said residents of Greenhead Park had complained their peace and quiet had been disturbed by previous events there.

He was also concerned that there would not be sufficient parking for families visiting the circus.

But Larry de Wit, director of operations for the Entertainment Corporation, told the panel: “We were not going to apply for a licence for a site we didn’t think was suitable and we found the car park was suitable.

“We don’t anticipate many cars parking on the site because we are so close to town we expect most people to walk. If they do want to park we can accommodate up to 150 cars on the site and use the car park up the road for any overflow.

“There will be no damage because the car park is not a soft site. There will be no live music and we will not be selling alcohol.

“This licence is just for this year. If the park is available next year we will apply for it again.”

The panel granted the licence on the condition that Mr de Wit is subject to conditions set out by Environmental Health and attending a meeting with the council’s events safety committee and complying with any conditions they set.

This year’s circus will run from May 5 to 9 and feature a new show based on the Chinese story Mulan.

The performance will include high-wire walkers, trapeze artists and dancers.

Mr de Wit told the Examiner: “We’re looking forward to coming back. It’s a fantastic show and we hope the people of Huddersfield support us.”