THE EAGERLY-anticipated £3.8 million revamp of one of Bradford's indoor markets has been put on hold, it has emerged.

Traders in the Oastler Centre say they are concerned about the indefinite delay to plans to regenerate the market.

The Council has revealed it had been "all ready to go" with the redevelopment before the "disappointing" news that Morrisons was pulling out of the centre's anchor site.

The local authority had even gone so far as to appoint renowned London-based architecture firm Greig and Stephenson to come up with a modern new look for the market by creating a new food court and outdoor covered market, as well as improving the existing building and public areas.

But City Hall chiefs said the loss of a key tenant such as Morrisons was something it "can't ignore" and it has now started a review of the plans.

The Morrisons store, which had stood in Westgate since 1969, closed in April.

Gunther Giangregorio, who runs a delicatessen in the Oastler Market, said he had noticed a drop in visitor numbers since the store closed.

He said: "There has been a definite drop-off in footfall since it closed, and one of the reasons is the access buses which used to drop shoppers off are going straight to the Morrisons in Girlington, instead of stopping here.

"The regeneration has been put on hold until the store has been leased, and we have heard rumours but nothing concrete; apparently Aldi, Home Bargains and TK Maxx have been looking around but how true it is we don't know.

"We need a supermarket in there, there is no two ways about it."

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, the Council's executive member for environment, sport and culture, said that as Morrisons has a long term lease on the Westgate site, it is down to the supermarket to find new tenants.

Cllr Ferriby said: "We were all ready to go with the Oastler market redevelopment before Morrisons announced they were pulling out.

"Naturally we are disappointed at Morrisons decision but we can't ignore it, and it means that we need to review the plans we had in light of this important anchor site changing.

"We do own the freehold on the building in Westgate and Morrisons are still renting it from us on a long term lease, and they have the responsibility for securing new tenants and we have been working with them on this.

"Our prime concern is the traders in Oastler market, and we are revisiting our previous redevelopment plans with urgency but at the same time talking to traders about how we can support them in the short-term too.

"We are in the middle of conversations with them about how best to do that."

Despite regeneration plans being put on hold, Mr Giangregorio remained positive about the future of the Morrisons site.

"I can feel there is an announcement coming."

He said: "Because it's been six weeks since it closed, and they will just want to get it filled."

A Morrisons spokesman confirmed the supermarket was looking for new tenants, but could not provide any further information.

In August last year, the Telegraph & Argus reported how architects who turned around the fortunes of one of the capital’s best-known markets were set to turn their sights to Bradford.

Greig and Stephenson, who transformed Southwark’s Borough Market into a street-food hub and tourist destination, was appointed by the Council to refurbish the Oastler Centre Market.

At that time, it was described as a project which aimed to modernise the market, expand its food offering and link it in with the city’s burgeoning independent quarter, centred around nearby North Parade.

The current Oastler market hall, formerly John Street Market, was built in the 1930s and refurbished in 2002.

The Council previously stated that it hoped its refurbishment would offer another reason for people to visit the top end of Bradford city centre, as a counterpoint to the Broadway shopping centre.