A new city centre hotel, destined to overlook Bradford’s long-awaited £260 million Broadway shopping centre, has received approval from council planning officers.

Permission has been given to convert two 19th-century, Grade II listed office buildings at 47-53 Well Street in Little Germany into a new 55-bedroom complex, also including a retail unit or restaurant. The two former Victorian textile warehouses, dating back to the 1860s, have been empty since 2006 when the Equity Insurance Group moved a call centre out of the city.

Leeds-based estate agents Steadman Brierley are acting as co-agents on the project, alongside fellow Leeds firm, Colliers, on behalf of the building’s London owner, Alpha Real Capital.

Tom Robertshaw, a consultant for Steadman Brierley, said: “We are grateful to Bradford Council for the speed in which they processed the application and their enthusiasm for the project.

“We have been looking at potential operators for the site, and will now firm up discussions with those parties.

“The development provides a good mix for both office workers and leisure users in the Little Germany area, and we are confident of interest in a site on the doorstep of a high-profile retail development. The design will remain complementary to the are.”

The architects behind the hotel’s design, Saltaire-based Riverside Design Studio, also designed the £3.5 million, 69-bedroom Travelodge hotel in Valley Road which opened in 2012.

Announcing the original plans for Well Street in October last year, its director Francesco Pacitto said the firm was “excited to be involved with the regeneration of such a prominent example of architectural heritage,” adding that feedback from public consultation towards the scheme had been “extremely pleasing.”

Construction on the shopping centre, which will include high street names such as Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and River Island, finally began this week and a Westfield spokesman welcomed the potential new hotel.

He said: “Broadway is just one key part of the regeneration of Bradford as a whole, and we want to create an exciting environment for other developers to come forward.”

Councillor Nazam Azam (Lab, City) said: “This project is great news and shows that confidence is returning for developers willing to invest in Bradford,” he said. “Schemes like this, alongside Westfield, shows we are now moving forward.”