PLANS for a new boutique cinema as part of The Broadway have been approved by Bradford Council.

The outline planning application means a six-screen cinema, dining and leisure complex, creating around 100 new jobs, can be developed next to the city's new shopping centre.

Trustees of Bradford's National Media Museum had spoken out against the scheme, claiming it would threaten its future, but planners said objectors' concerns had been considered in making the decision.

The developers behind the project, Westfield and Meyer Bergman, said the proposals were approved after "an extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders including local councillors, the business community, and local residents".

They said more than 80 per cent of those spoken to backed the plans for the mainly vacant property at 14 to 20 Broadway.

A spokesman for Meyer Bergman said a "high-quality operator" for the cinema would be announced "shortly".

"We’re absolutely delighted that Bradford Council has granted outline approval for our plans for a new cinema and leisure development, adjoining The Broadway shopping centre," he said.

"Now we have secured outline planning consent, we will continue to work really closely with Bradford Council to make sure that the details of these plans are right for Bradford, and we look forward to announcing our cinema operator in the coming months.

"We’re confident that the addition of this cinema and leisure development to The Broadway will make the shopping centre an even more attractive place to visit, and look forward to continuing to make further progress on the plans."

When the plans were originally announced in April, Councillor David Green, the leader of Bradford Council, said the cinema had the potential to cater for a "niche market", avoiding competition with the city's existing cinema outlets.

Bradford City of Film director David Wilson added that the plans could offer "something slightly different" to the current cinema provision in the city centre.

In a formal objection to the project on behalf of the Trustees of the Science Museum group, the parent organisation of the National Media Museum, its director, Jo Quinton-Tulloch, argued that granting planning permission would "demonstrate considerable adverse effects to its business", claiming the focus should be on "retention rather than expansion" of Bradford's cinema offer.

She said: "The proposed cinema would have a harmful impact on the future economic viability of the museum in the city, with trade draw from the same catchment area reducing its revenue and footfall.

"This reduced commercial performance will also threaten the sustainable future of the museum in Bradford, making future investment in the museum less attractive."

In a statement following the approval, she added: "We appreciate having been given the opportunity to give our point of view, and we’ll of course continue playing our part in raising Bradford’s profile as UNESCO City of Film and being the place for great cinema."

The Broadway shopping centre, which is expected to create around 2,500 jobs, is set to open on Thursday, November 5, with more than 80 per cent of the £260million centre's unit now said to have been filled.