City eyesore now an urban garden

Work began earlier this year to spruce up the vast site which had become an eyesore and potent symbol of people's frustration with the lack of progress on the long-awaited development.

The 15-acre city centre site had been empty since demolition work began in 2004 to make way for Westfield to build the Broadway development.

A quarter of the site has now been landscaped to create what has been named the Bradford Urban Garden (BUG).

Outer hoardings have been pulled back where the site has been landscaped and replaced by a wooden fence.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Peter Hill will unveil a plaque and plant a small tree to mark the official opening of the urban garden tomorrow.

Bradford Council Leader Coun Ian Greenwood insisted that the local authority and Westfield were still committed to the shopping centre scheme.

Coun Greenwood said: "Westfield and Bradford Council remain committed to the final shopping scheme but in the interim, the Bradford Urban Garden makes the best possible use of the area.

"It is vital to the city's traders and communities that the site can be used temporarily as we wait for confidence to return to the country's retail market."

Westfield has yet to give a date when construction work will start on the site.

The vacant 'hole' in Bradford city centre has triggered a wave of growing anger and frustration over recent years.

And further disappointment followed last year when Westfield announced that it would not be starting building work before 2010.

Landscape and street scene workers have created the 300,000 green space, which has been jointly funded by Bradford Council, Westfield and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

The council says that it can now be enjoyed by workers, residents, shoppers and visitors "until growth in the retail market allows construction of the new Westfield shopping development to go ahead."

Neil Huntington, development director at Westfield, said: "We have worked together with the council and other partners to develop an interim use for the Broadway site which will open up the area to the local community and create greater connectivity within the city."

The director added: "At a time when many projects across the country have been put on hold, the Bradford Urban Garden project is a leading example of how regeneration sites can be brought back into public use until their redevelopment can be implemented with the improvement of market conditions."

Coun Greenwood, Coun David Green, executive member for regeneration and economy and representatives from Westfield and Yorkshire Forward will join the ceremony tomorrow.

Coun Green said: "As a council, we cannot influence the international and national economy, but with imagination and the co-operation with our partners, we can create something the city can be proud of."

The project will also see the area developed culturally as an outdoor venue for a variety of projects to be led by arts charity Fabric.

Coun Hill said: "We hope as many people as possible will enjoy the area, and the planned cultural and community events will bring the urban garden to life."

Jan Anderson, of Yorkshire Forward, said: "We are pleased that our urban design and property teams have been able to support Bradford Council and Westfield in the development and delivery of this innovative public space for the people of Bradford."