A multi-million pound scheme to return Keighley’s Cliffe Castle Park to its Victorian splendour is one step closer after plans for a major refurbishment were approved.

Bradford Council wants to build a cafe, greenhouses, palm house and animal pens on the terrace garden, restore various Victorian features around the site and redesign the park’s gardens.

An application to demolish some buildings was approved over the weekend and another to create replacement buildings is expected to be approved imminently.

But the works are still dependent on a £3.3 million grant, which Bradford Council hopes the Heritage Lottery Fund will award later this month.

If unsuccessful, the Council will have to go back to the drawing board.

The revamped park will also include a grass maze and a Dig For Victory wartime-themed garden to be used by visiting school groups. Fountains and a pool in the grounds will be restored to working order, ornamental furniture and lighting renovated and extra spaces created in the car park.

The plans were approved after conservation officers decided the buildings being demolished had “no heritage significance and none make a positive contribution to the conservation area.”

Sue Skinner, from Cliffe Castle Park Conservation Group, said: “It’s great news, we’re delight the plans have been approved. We’re just keeping our fingers crossed it gets the funding now.

“There are places in the park that need things doing and if these things get done then it can only be good news for the people of Keighley and the visitors from the wider area who come to the park.

“If the bid is successful, or whatever happens, the group will stay involved in supporting the park.”

Coun Andrew Thornton, executive member in charge of leisure at the Council, said: “It is great news that permission has been granted. It moves us one step closer to getting the project delivered.

“We just hope the bid will be successful. It is an important part of the project, and if the bid is unsuccessful we’ll have to re-think what we’re going to do.”

Originally the home of Victorian millionaire textile manufacturer, Henry Isaac Butterfield, Cliffe Castle and its grounds were donated to the people of Keighley in the 1940s with the mansion becoming a museum. As well as being a public park, the grounds host numerous events, such as the annual Aire Do festival.

Cliffe Castle Museum is nearing the end of a £370,000 refurbishment, and will re-open late next month. A children’s play area in the park, part of a separate funding bid, will also open next month.