READ MORE: Kirkgate Shopping Centre to be demolished as part of major city centre changes

The giant shopping mall had its beginnings in 1954 when two Yorkshire entrepreneurs - Arnold Hagenbach, a third generation bakery magnate from Wakefield, and Sam Chippindale, an estate agent from Otley who had an office above a Bradford barber’s shop - bought the city’s Swan Arcade.

The pair planned to demolish the arcade to make way for a purpose-built shopping mall modelled on the paeans to consumerism that had already taken America by storm after the Second World War.

Their company was called the Arndale Property Trust, the name being a combination of “Arnold” and “Chippindale”, and their dream was to raise malls in major cities across the country.

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The escalators were a novelty at the time

Bradford was not the first Arndale Centre. Leases on the Swan arcade proved hard to overcome and the duo had to wait years for them to expire before they could press ahead. The first phase began in 1972.

By then Arnold and Sam had already proven their concept was sound by building the first Arndale Centre in Jarrow, in the North-East of England, which opened in 1961.

But the Jarrow development was a hesitant first step that didn’t break with centuries of British shopping tradition. The ‘centre’ wasn’t completely under cover; instead rows of shops were divided by a purpose-built pedestrian precinct which had seating and large planters designed to create a relaxing environment as well as plenty of free parking. Maybe that’s why the Jarrow Arndale’s pie shop was the busiest anywhere in the North-East.

It didn’t take long for the company to wholly embrace the shopping mall concept, however.

The Arndale Property Trust went from strength-to-strength. In the 1960s and 1970s the arrival of an Arndale Centre was seen as a saviour for Britain’s beleaguered towns and cities.

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Great emphasis was placed on the open spaces

When it opened the Wandsworth Arndale Centre in 1971 the company’s proud boast was that it had built the largest covered shopping centre in Europe.

The complex, built over the River Wandle, included a health clinic and a day centre, as well as a post office and 1,000 car parking spaces.

Work started on a centre in Bradford in June 1972. The 400,000 sq ft of shopping space included a replacement for the Kirkgate Market, 50 shops, three department stores and two pubs. It cost more than £6 million to construct - a huge vote of confidence in the city.

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Youngsters were invited to sing Christmas carols

When it opened people queued up outside to be among the first to experience its air conditioned luxury. There were fountains, escalators and even a wooden hippo for the children to play on (and in - thanks to a gaping mouth).

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Hagenbach and Chippindale realised the retail experience had to be more than just 'shopping'.

The Arndale Centres pioneered on-site restaurants (and pubs) and used the walkways to create displays such a Santa's grotto at Christmas.

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An Austin Allegro woos buyers in the centre

Car dealers were encouraged to show off their latest models and shoppers enjoyed the chance to browse for a new car without the pressure of a motor dealer showroom.

Not many people paid much attention to the ancient market cross at one of the entrances but that was all that remained of the original Kirkgate Market.

But the history stretches even further back to 1705 when it was occupied by a grand Manor Hall. The chapel was where the lifts are now, and the cemetery was close by (the deceased having long since moved to Bowling Cemetery.

Arndale’s success made multi-millionaires of Hagenbach and Chippindale.

Sam died in 1990. Arnold, who married a journalist from Bradford called Betty Sloan, was so rich he was able to buy his own private island (albeit off Plymouth). He lived to be 100 and died at his home in Spain in 2005. He left behind three daughters.

By then he had seen others take his idea and create ever larger retail complexes. They may be on scale unimagined back in 1954, but places like Sheffield’s Meadowhall and the Gateshead Metro Centre all owe a huge debt to the zeal of two canny businessmen from West Yorkshire.