WORK on a multi-million-pound city centre development that will include restaurants, a hotel, banqueting suites and a training centre for chefs will start today.

A planning application to turn an empty office block – Kingfisher House in Filey Street – into a 35,000sq ft world food “centre of excellence” has been approved by Bradford Council.

The group behind the plans have called it “a multi-million-pound facility that will crystallise Bradford’s reputation as the Curry Capital” and said up to £5 million would be spent on the development.

Today builders will move onto the site to begin work on refurbishing and expanding the building, creating a new entrance inspired by the architecture of the Burj al Arab building in Dubai.

The plans are by Mi7 Developments, working in partnership with Jinnah Restaurants, which will fund the proposal, and the World Curry Festival.

The restaurant will accommodate up to 400 people, and the banqueting facility a similar number, with the hotel containing around 25 rooms.

Saleem Akhtar, managing director at Jinnah Group, bought the site with a loan from Lloyds bank, and said: “We are very excited, it is great after all the work we’re able to start the next phase of this.

“This is a very big project. Once it is all completed I don’t think we’ll get much change out of £5 million.

“It is the only project of its kind, it will be one of the biggest restaurant developments in the UK. At the moment we don’t have restaurants with room for parties of 50-100 people.

“We are really looking to make the most of Bradford being curry capital, it is great having that BD1 postcode. We want people to stop travelling to Manchester to go to the large restaurants there. There is going to be a huge variety of food: Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, some of everything. We can’t wait to open.

“We’re also trying to train local people to become top chefs, get some local youngsters into the industry.”

He said the development could employ around 250 staff, and help train between 50 to 100 people a year.