BRADFORD’S £1 million underground retail development has been hit by further delays and now faces a race against time to open before the Broadway shopping centre.

The Tunnel, build underneath Sunbridge Road, Upper Millergate and Ivegate, will include 14 small retail units and four restaurants/bars in a Victorian-style complex.

But it is now due to open its doors in October or November this year, almost 12 months after it was originally expected to.

The project was given the go ahead by Bradford Council in August last year.

The previous forecast for opening the site was given as the end of September by developers earlier this year.

But the opening was pushed back after the original project was expanded by almost a third since work began.

Now developers hope the underground site will be open around the same time as the £260 million Broadway shopping centre on November 5.

The complex aims to provide starter units for new businesses, and the 20,000 sq ft development will also include an art gallery and regular arts and craft markets.

But work is still going on apace including the installation of the staircase leading up to Ivegate.

A total of 2,000 tonnes of rubble have been pulled from the tunnels and cellars.

Graham Hall, of Yeadon-based developers Sunbridge Wells, says he is frustrated by the further delays but potential businesses are still expressing an interest in taking on a shop at the site.

He said: "Hopefully we will try to beat Westfield opening.

"It's been a bit more work than we thought it would be.

"It's frustrating for me. It seems to be taking longer than we thought it would be.

"It's just a couple of months behind schedule. It's getting there.

"There is extra building work, more stuff to be done.

"It should be October or November now. How long is a piece of string?

"The whole thing is coming together. It would be sooner if it was a brand new building.

"There has been plenty of interest in taking on the shops. It will look the part when the shops fronts are done."

The development's tunnel features some buildings which have not been used for almost 90 years.

The site has previously been a nightclub and bottling plant, and some of the newly acquired buildings were Victorian homes.

The units will be laid out over the main floor, a mezzanine and two upper levels.

It will include access from City Park and Sunbridge Road and the site will use link to the Arndale Mall.

There will be Victorian-style units running along the tunnel's internal street with a large glass area above.

A courtyard will have an open plan glass and steel staircase leading to Upper Miller Gate.