AN ambitious project to build a state-of-the-art office building in Bradford city centre to attract up to 3,500 public sector jobs has been welcomed.

The £20 million scheme would see Bradford Council's Jacob's Well office building in Nelson Street flattened, with the land sold to private developers to build a 200,000 sq ft public sector hub.

It is hoped the new building will attract tenants from across the country, such as Government departments, the NHS or the police, all working under the same roof - although no leases have yet been signed.

And it could be open for business in as little as three years' time.

Lobbying group Bradford Breakthrough, which campaigns for the city's regeneration, said the plan was positive news for the city. Chief executive Colin Philpott said: "It's just what Bradford needs. Bringing more jobs into the Bradford district generally - but into the city centre in particular - is obviously a good thing, for all sorts of reasons.

"I think what is particularly interesting about this is the idea of trying to relocate public sector jobs into Bradford - not necessarily ones to do with Bradford Council."

Alan Hall, of Bradford Civic Society, said bringing Government jobs to Leeds had given a huge boost to its regeneration, so if the same could be done in Bradford it would be a very positive step.

He said: "I wouldn't weep over Jacob's Well as a building going. I don't think it has any great merit at all, really.

"It depends what's built on there and what it looks like, but if it is something which the Council feels will attract employment and investment into the middle of Bradford then that can only be a good thing.

"If it acts as a catalyst to regenerate the centre of Bradford, then that's bound to be a good thing. But we will have to wait and see, won't we?"

The scheme is a partnership between Bradford Council, construction group McLaren, developers Chiltington Land and consultants DragonGate.

Bradford Council has an ongoing project to reduce the number of buildings it works from, and the 1,700 staff currently working in Jacob's Well would be moved to other Council offices in the city centre to allow the build to proceed.

The Jacob's Beer House next door would be unaffected.

The hub, which has yet to get planning permission, would boast a sports centre for staff and a shared reception.

It would also be energy-efficient to drive down costs for leaseholders and would be designed to allow organisations to work more closely together by sharing information and working practices.

Councillor David Green, leader of Bradford Council, said no authority money was being put into the scheme, as it was being privately financed.

He said they had not yet decided whether the Council would be taking one of the leases, but that the project had the potential to bring great benefits to Bradford.

He said: "The major things the district will get will be additional jobs and additional footfall in the city centre."

Craig Young, finance director for McLaren, said the public sector organisations taking out the long-term leases would in effect pay for the build.

He said: "The Council of course are very keen to occupy it, though we haven't signed a lease agreement with them.

"We are in discussions with a lot of other civil service offices down in London that are wanting to relocate to Bradford.

"There are a lot of discussions ongoing."

Mr Young said the hub would take 22 months to build, and they hoped it would open in the first quarter of 2018.

He said they would not have to have signed all the leases for them to begin the build.

He said: "It doesn't need to be 100 per cent occupied for us to push the button. It would be great if it was, but it doesn't have to be."

Jez Conen, McLaren's development manager, said the amount they would pay the Council for the land would depend on the profitability of the scheme.

He said there was also scope for the Council to get longer-term benefits too, but that was "not something that is in the bag at this stage".