A"forgotten" area at the heart of Bradford's shopping centre is to win a £3 million facelift.

The streets around the Oastler and Kirkgate centres, the rejuvenated Rawson Market area and Godwin Street will all be revamped.

And an extra £2 million is expected to be committed to the Connecting The City project to build a ramp to the underground car park being constructed under the £300 million Broadway scheme and a bridge to carry the New Cheapside road over the ramp.

The £3 million facelift will begin with the pedestrianisation of Rawson Place which will be covered with traditional Yorkshire flags and granite setts.

The environmental improvements to the north of the city centre will be a first step towards the implementation of the city's radical masterplan - now on display in New York - drawn up by architect Will Allsop. It sees a city set in an urban park with stunning buildings, public art and ornamental features The improvements, expected to be agreed by Bradford Council's executive committee on Tuesday, has been welcomed by traders who feared the north of the city centre was being left behind in the race to develop the south.

A scheme will be drawn up to comply with the city's new design statement, commissioned by Bradford Centre Regeneration from urban design consultants Urbed.

It will include schemes around the Kirkgate centre, Godwin Street and the Oastler centre and could include ornamental features and public art.

Today the plans were welcomed by developers, retailers and businesses as a major boost for the city during the upheaval before the opening of the Broadway centre in 2007.

But the executive committee will be told that the £20 million cost of the Connecting the City scheme, preparing the infrastructure of the new Broadway, will run £2 million over target and will be asked to approve a £500,000 top-up from Council coffers.

The work on Rawson Place will be part-funded by Modus, developers of the new Rawson Exchange shopping centre.

Chairman of Bradford Retail Action Group Jeff Frankel said: "It is high time. In the seven and a half years since Rawson Market closed nothing has been spent in this area."

Bradford Council's director of transportation, planning and design, Alan Mainwaring, said Prudential, owners of the Kirkgate shopping centre, had been concerned about the north of the city.

"We have got to make the whole city work. The master plan has also come along and a clear neighbourhood framework for the area will be ready in April when fuller details of the schemes can be prepared."

Kirkgate Centre manager Catherine Riley said: "At Prudential we are keen to see investment in the city centre as a whole. We would welcome the Council's commitment to a £3 million improvement scheme for the historic city core."

Modus development director Damian Flood said his company would be contributing to the Rawson Place pedestrianisation, which will include traditional Yorkshire flag stones and granite setts.

He said: "This whole scheme is very good news because it strengthens pedestrian flows right through the city. We will be starting in the next few weeks to strip the road in Rawson Place in preparation."

Marc Cole, operations director of Bradford Centre Regeneration, said: "The Council has discussed it with us and it will contribute to the delivery of the masterplan.

This area is the core of the city."

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, executive member for the environment, said: "We are planning a package of very high quality street and pedestrian improvements which aims to ensure large parts of the centre are able to benefit from the Broadway development."