Moves to create a temporary park on the site of the mothballed Westfield shopping development have received a cash boost from a fund designed to transform communities hit by recession.

The plan for an urban garden on Bradford’s ten-acre Broadway site is among a number of schemes across the country that will receive support of up to £25,000 from the Meanwhile Project, led by the Development Trusts Association and funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The Meanwhile Project is based on the philosophy that vibrant interim uses should be found for empty properties that spoil city centres, destroy economic and social value, and waste resources that should not be left idle.

Plans to transform the vacant city centre land for arts and community use are progressing through a partnership between Australian developer Westfield, Bradford Council, regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and local arts development organisation Fabric.

Fabric has revealed that it is working on a range of possible creative uses for the site, including new art works created by schools and local artists and a space for arts and crafts markets.

There could also be space for theatre and music performances; ‘green’ projects exploring bio-diversity; new sculptures using recycled materials and outdoor cinema in the world’s first UNESCO City of Film. The icing on the cake would be a plan to place large-scale arts installations in the massive ‘basement’ car park area that would be visible through special viewing windows in the safety fencing.

Gideon Seymour, director of arts development agency Fabric, said: “This is a great opportunity for local people to re-engage with a large area of their city centre and to participate in projects that give them the chance to express themselves creatively.

“We hope that everyone will come and explore the potential that the Bradford Urban Garden has to offer and to be part of creating a new space that is theirs to use.

“Funding from the Meanwhile Project means that this will be a unique space and that the development and use of the site is for local people to decide.”