The owners of Bingley's Myrtle Walk shopping centre have spoken of their shock at learning of rival plans for its redevelopment.

Developers Donaldsons have published plans of how they hope to revamp the centre with an £11 million project. The scheme has been thrown into doubt with Thornfield Properties plc announcing their own £2 million scheme - including plans to buy the precinct, valued at £3.5 million.

Donaldsons also discovered Safeway supermarket, a resident in the centre for many years, was backing the rival plans. In addition they were determined to leave the centre for a purpose-built £7 million store on the old Cattle Market site in Keighley Road.

Richard Young, Donaldson's managing director, said: "Thornfield's plans for the centre came as a great shock. We knew that they were intending to submit an application for the Keighley Road site but we were not aware that terms had been agreed with Safeway.

"We thought they might tell us as a matter of courtesy that they had agreed this. In a way though we are pleased that Safeway have agreed terms because it does leave us free now to proceed with our redevelopment and clears the way for talking to other supermarkets who might be interested. "

He also apologised to Safeway for using their name in respect of their application without their agreement. In a letter to Alan Mainwaring, Bradford Council's head of transportation & planning, Richard Islip, Safeway's development controller had complained of the move and disassociated themselves from Donaldson's proposals.

He wrote: "Safeway has for many years been seeking to secure a replacement store for our existing premises in Bingley. The Myrtle Centre scheme does not, nor ever could, provide the type of store that we are seeking with flat level car parking, sufficient size to fulfil the needs of the catchment, easy access etc. It is because of this that we fully support the Cattle Market application by Thornfield Properties.

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