Hundreds of consultants have asked for the job of selling Bradford as a top world city.

Bradford Centre Regeneration - the joint venture company set up to spearhead the re-birth of the city - has received 600 applications from consultants who believe they can do the job.

Bradford is to be "rebranded" next year in a £1 million national advertising campaign as Bradford Centre Regeneration and Bradford Vision work together to revamp the city's image.

Today they revealed the massive response from consultants keen to take on the task .

A shortlist of eight has been prepared and interviews will be held next month.

The appointment of the company which will sell the city will be a major step towards implementing a masterplan drawn up by international architect Will Allsop.

The plan has been adopted by Bradford Centre Regeneration which is working to turn it into a reality. It shows City Hall set in a lake, canalside housing, a business forest and the city centre set in an urban park.

Bradford Centre Regeneration chief executive Maud Marshall said: "We had expressions of interest from local and national companies and are very pleased. The brief is to market Bradford and bring in hundreds of millions of pounds to implement the masterplan.

"Originally we set the figure at between £160 million and £200 million. But we are reviewing that because the masterplan is already a year old and things have already moved on."

There have been inquiries about new canalside housing and consultants have been brought in to examine the possibility of rebuilding and re-aligning the canal.

The study by Arup will look mainly at how much private and public money can be attracted for the multi-million-pound redevelopment.

Initial targets for funding could include the Council, British Waterways, English Partnerships and Yorkshire Forward. Bradford Centre Regeneration has also gone out to tender for consultants to provide development frameworks for the first two parts of the masterplan.

They are the Channel - covering the Canal Road area - and the Markets, which takes in the top end of the city including the new Rawson shopping centre, Oastler shopping centre and Drewton Street mosque.

YOU DECIDE.

There are three options for Bradford's 1930s former Odeon cinema - which is to be demolished at a cost of £1.44 million and replaced by a new building for uses such as a concert hall or conference centre.

Consultants Arup say incorporating the old towers is the most expensive option, at £3.6 million.

Option two is for replica domes costing around £3 million. Or the towers could be demolished and represented in design features.

Bradford Centre Regeneration wants people to say which they prefer. You can vote on the phone lines, by coupon or at Bradford Centre Regeneration's website www. bradfordurc. co. uk.