Huddersfield’s best-known landmark, Castle Hill, could soon be humming with the sound of development according to Almondbury Lib Dems.

In a newsletter sent out by the group, local election candidate Alison Munro says a new application was expected to be submitted by land owners the Thandi Brothers.

She says: “There have been a couple of applications to develop the site again, all refused, but before Christmas the Thandis came back again with an informal approach to the Planning Committee.

“No application has yet been made, but some councillors from around Kirklees encouraged the Thandis and we expect a new application before long.”

Alison Munro (left) with former Kirklees councillor Linda Wilkinson

Alison said: “The new proposal will apparently be for a restaurant with rooms and probably some sort of visitor centre.

“Linda Wilkinson, (one of the sitting Kirklees Lib Dem councillors for Almondbury who is standing down in May), and I, would like to know what people think, so whatever your view, please fill in the survey.

Castle Hill is in Almondbury and we think local residents should have the biggest say in what happens.”

But Clr Bernard McGuin, who is the Conservative member for the Almondbury ward in which the hill lies, told the Examiner last year there was opposition from local residents to development.

“They don’t want anything to go on the hill,” he said. “They can’t see any special circumstances and they don’t want to see that monument desecrated.

“The footprint that was there has gone, it’s just a car park. The road up to Castle Hill is narrow, there’s been several accidents up there. There have been cars overturned.”

Around 15 years ago Castle Hill was acquired by the brothers, who were given planning permission to redevelop the hotel.

However, they completely mishandled the terms of the permission and eventually Kirklees Council ordered that the partially constructed building be bulldozed, costing the brothers hundreds of thousands of pounds in money down the drain.

The original Castle Hill Hotel

They were forced to demolish the larger hotel they were building in its place in 2005 as it breached planning law.

The brothers failed twice, in 2010 and 2012, to get new permission.

They have made various attempts to breathe fresh life into a new scheme but these have come to nought as conditions have tightened.

The developers have many hurdles to overcome and must prove “special circumstances” exist if they are to get the green light.

Jubilee Tower at the top of Castle Hill is a Grade II listed structure, the top of the hill is a designated nature reserve and the entire site is in the green belt.

The hill was once topped by an Iron Age fort and is an official ‘scheduled monument’.

However, last year it emerged that the tide had changed and councillors’ opposition to developing the site appeared to have largely vanishe d.