ONE of the flagship stores in Bradford's Kirkgate Centre is leaving in less than two months - ahead of a move to the city's new Westfield development.

WH Smith, which fronts onto Godwin Street, will close its doors at the city centre venue at 5.30pm on March 11.

A notice in the store's windows tells customers of the decision, stating: "We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Your closest WH Smith store will now be at Halifax."

WH Smith is one of the retailers listed to take a place in Westfield's Broadway development in Bradford. But, with that not due to open until the end of this year, WHSmith staff have voiced concerns about their position.

Some have been told that the new WH Smith store will be open by September. Sources suggest WH Smith asked for a six-month lease at the Kirkgate to plug the gap before opening in Westfield, but was told that only a year-long option was available. Westfield said a date for opening had not yet been set.

No-one at the Kirkgate Centre was available to comment on the news. WH Smith also failed to give a comment after requests from the Telegraph & Argus.

A Westfield spokesman said: "Since construction of the Broadway began in January 2014 we’ve made excellent progress, with the steel frame now in place and cladding works continuing around the centre. Work to both build and let the centre is continuing well, with well over 50 per cent of the Broadway's floor space now spoken for.

"We expect construction to be complete before the end of 2015, and will update the community when an opening date has been confirmed."

Mike Cartwright, of Bradford Chamber, said: "While we welcome the fact that Westfield is back on track and due to open this year, and forms a key part of Bradford’s city centre regeneration, it has always been a nagging worry that this could happen: a shifting of existing retailers creating another vacancy elsewhere in the city.

"It’s not what we want to see happen, of course. We would like to see new retailers that are not yet present in the city to take up space in Westfield to give a more diverse range and choice to shoppers and make the city more attractive to those beyond our current boundaries.

"It’s to be hoped that the vacant space left by this decision can be filled as quickly as possible."

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