'BRADFORD is on an upward cycle."

That's the message from Ian Ward, General Manager at The Broadway, after being named Centre Manager of the Year in the national Retail Destination, Sceptre Awards, which recognise the best practice and people in the shopping centre industry.

The criteria for the award covered footfall levels in the previous 12 months, customers spend and dwell time, new tenants to the centre, the success of marketing campaigns and the extent of the centre’s involvement in the local community.

The Broadway was particularly commended for its 2018 festive launch, which drove nearly 53,000 people to the centre. This marked the highest footfall since its opening weekend - and 12,000 more visitors than the 2017 launch.

The centre has also seen year on year footfall increase, with numbers in years two and three up by two million in comparison to the centre’s first year.

Mr Ward, who is also chairman of the Bradford BID, began his career with Marks & Spencer and Safeway. After managing Stratford Centre in East London, he became centre director at St John’s Shopping Centre, Liverpool, in 2010 and took on his Broadway role in 2016.

Whilst his name is on the award, he says it’s an accolade for the full Broadway team and is an achievement for the city as a whole.

He admits city centres face a challenging retail climate at the moment.

“There’s no two ways about it, but I think it’s also fair to say we’re pretty much bucking the trend on a lot of what’s going on with that,” Mr Ward told the Telegraph & Argus.

“We had a strong last year on footfall and this year, currently as we stand, we’ve actually got double digit growth coming through.

“There’s challenges, there’s a lot of retailers that have been through difficult periods and still continue to go through difficult periods, but I think in general terms we’re more than happy with where we are at the moment.”

The centre has suffered closures since it opened its doors, but Mr Ward revealed Tiffin is due to open ‘Tiffin Grande’ in Patisserie Valerie’s old unit, there’s a possibility of another deal in the next few weeks with a “significant leisure operator” and Pizza Express is also due to open in the coming months. Frankie’s Burgers also opened its doors last week.

But Mr Ward says more leisure operators and restaurants are needed, particularly as major projects like Bradford Live get underway, and the centre has to deliver a “leisure experience” which offers more than just shopping.

On the city as a whole, he said: “Bradford is actually going through a cycle at the moment that probably most city centres across the country would bite your hand off for. "We’re on an upward cycle because of all the investment coming in and all the work that is being done.”