Bradford has had “an early Christmas present” with the news that developer Westfield is fully committed to building its new shopping centre in the city.

The company’s director of development Duncan Bower was at the city’s Broadway site this morning to announce the start of construction of the £260 million scheme in January.

The aim is to open before Christmas 2015 after a two-year build using local firms and creating around 4,000 jobs in all.

Mr Bower was joined by Bradford East MP David Ward, head of investor relations for the site owner Meyer Bergman Tami Chuang and Bradford Council leader David Green.

Mr Ward described the announcement as “an early Christmas present” and a highlight of the year.

He added: “It’s a very, very exciting day. Many thought it wouldn’t happen, but I never lost faith. I’ve been working very, very closely with many members of Westfield.”

Work halted on the site five years ago due to the global financial crisis.