Keeping tabs on developer Westfield to try and ensure progress on the mothballed £320m Broadway shopping centre will be a priority for Bradford property chiefs over the next two years.

Paul Mackie, new chairman of the Bradford Property Forum, said trying to persuade Westfield to move forward the planned retail mall was vital.

He said they needed to find ways of getting Westfield on site within two years. “That would be a real achievement,” he said.

Mr Mackie acknowledged that Bradford Council’s strategic director of regeneration, Barra Mac Ruari, had also pledged to spend the next 12 months ensuring that the Westfield scheme went ahead through pursuing additional funding options and reviewing the scale and design of the scheme.

Mr Mackie, who is chairman of Bradford quantity surveyors Rex Procter & Partners, will chair the Bradford Property Forum for the next two years. He is also chairman of the Bradford Professional Network and a member of Bradford Chamber of Commerce council.

Mr Mackie said the Forum needed to review its priorities and objectives.

Issues such as the cross-rail link with a single Bradford railway station, the future of the Odeon site and the proposed Langtree development, the problems facing city centre shops and management of Bradford centre itself were areas on which the Forum should consider.