A CHANGE of ownership could herald a new dawn for Keighley’s long-delayed Worth Valley Shopping Centre.

Bradford Council has revealed that Leeds-based developers Stainsby Grange would no longer be leading the £30 million project.

The council said it was “actively working” with a new potential developer to create a shops and leisure scheme on the derelict East Parade site.

A council spokesman stressed that any new project was in its very early stages, but said the council was determined work would begin as soon as practically possible.

The revelation came after pressure from Bradford Councillors Adrian Naylor and Khadim Hussain for information about progress on the shopping centre.

They were among local politicians concerned about delays in beginning construction work, despite planning permission being granted in 2012 for 14 shop units, a nine-screen cinema and 350 parking spaces.

Stainsby Grange, with a track record of developing shopping centres elsewhere in the UK, had first unveiled its scheme in 2011 after spending several years buying up existing properties on the five-acre site.

The company cleared the site in 2013 ready for construction work, and continued the process of signing-up major companies needed for the flagship store units.

Bradford Council learned from a “new development interest” that Stainsby Grange would not be delivering the Worth Valley Shopping Centre.

A council spokesman said: "An initial meeting with Bradford Council took place on Monday to explore the interest.

“The council will be actively working with a new potential developer on a commercially confidential basis and we are hopeful that a new scheme can be brought forward.

“The council has a record of delivery and we are determined that a development will go ahead on this sites as soon as practicably possible.

"There are possibilities for a retail/leisure scheme. However, there are no hard and fast details at the moment."

The news was welcomed by Councillor Adrian Naylor (Ind, Craven) a former Bradford regeneration chairman.

He said: “Keighley deserves a new shopping centre and I’m hopeful that the new party, whoever it is, will move forward quickly.

“What I don’t want to see is another seven years go by until someone starts building work.”

Councillor Khadim Hussain, whose Keighley Central ward includes the shopping centre site, greeted the interest from a new developer as positive news.

He added: “This is a prime site in the town centre that has been flattened. A lot of money has been spent on it already.

“The council is doing its level best to facilitate the new development. It’s essential for the future of Keighley.”

The news was also welcomed by Steve Seymour in his dual roles as Airedale shopping centre manager and Keighley Town Centre Association chairman.

He said: “I’d be pleased to see the project progress because it presents a new asset to Keighley. As an association we want new businesses in the town.

“Sometimes an initial developer isn’t the one who completes the work on a shopping centre. It often takes a partnership to take it from multiple ownership to single ownership, then to completion.”