The future of Bingley town centre rests with the Myrtle Walk shopping centre, its owners said today.

And Halladale - the owners of the run-down complex - today reassured the public plans to redevelop it had not been forgotten.

The company said "exciting" plans for its future would be released in the near future and that a proposed supermarket on the site of the town's former cattle market would have no effect.

As revealed by the Telegraph & Argus last week, Thornfield Properties has submitted an outline planning application to Bradford Council to build a 45,000 square foot store on the former auction mart site.

It has prompted fears from town centre businesses that trade could be adversely affected.

But David Petrie, Halldale's asset manager, said: "We are aware of the scheme but we are working on what we consider very exciting proposals to the expansion of both food and non-food retail outlets in Myrtle Walk.

"As we are advancing these we are hoping our proposals will become clear in the very near future."

The Glasgow-based property trading and development company bought the 1970s Myrtle Walk shopping centre a year ago for £6 million.

Despite hopes for a quick revamp and modernisation programme of the 50,000 square foot site, traders and residents have been left frustrated about the lack of progress.

Mr Petrie said the company hoped to submit a planning application to Bradford Council "in the coming three to six months."

"I am very confident what we are proposing is the future of the town," he said.

Mr Petrie said Halladale officials had been involved in "ongoing discussions" with the Council about the best way the centre could be developed.

Residents, traders and ward councillors have been pushing for something to be done with the 1970s building for many years.

Councillor David Heseltine (Con, Bingley) said: "I hope something positive is going to happen to the centre in the near future.

"I think everybody hoped that when the centre was sold to a new developer things would have moved at pace.

"It will be interesting to see what the proposals are when they come out."

Bingley town centre manager David Dinsey said: "The redevelopment of the precinct is now paramount and it features heavily in the future regeneration plans for the town."

Mr Dinsey said that out of 22 retail units in the shopping centre, nine remained empty.

Elsewhere in the town, excluding the centre, only 3.35 per cent of units were empty, he said.

Mr Dinsey said: "These figures prove that before and since the opening of the Bingley Relief Road there has been a great deal of investment by those new businesses which shows there is renewed confidence in the town."