Bradford is about to follow on the heels of Birmingham and Manchester with its first citycentre design guide.

Internationally-acclaimed urban design consultants Urbed looked at the city, with its legacy of streets and heritage buildings, and overlaid it with Will Alsop's famous masterplan.

The result is a city split into four neighbourhoods, each with distinctive character and iconic developments.

The new publication appearing in City Hall, town halls, planning offices and libraries across the district tomorrow is aimed at the public as well as developers, businesses and investors.

The Council wants people to write or e-mail comments and meetings are also being planned to discuss it.

Responses to the draft design guide will go to the Council's executive committee in March.

It will initially be adopted as supplementary planning guidance to the district's Unitary Development Plan, which dictates land use across the district, and will eventually be part of an area action plan for the city centre.

It is being discussed informally with developers who currently have plans in the pipeline and they are being advised of its content.

Bradford Council's executive member for regeneration Councillor Simon Cooke today welcomed it as a document answering many of the questions which people were now asking about the changing face of the city.

The guide also outlines areas where historic character should be retained and where redevelopment should be encouraged.

Streets, tall buildings, roads and street signs are all included in the draft guided which is open to comment for the next five weeks.

Russell Baker - managing director of Asquith Properties which has invested £20 million creating topclass apartments in the city and has begun work on its £22 million Tower Haus development in Leeds Road - said: "It is an excellent way forward and I believe it will enhance Bradford as a city."

THE FOUR 'NEIGHBOURHOODS' The Bowl. . .

isat the hear t of the Alsop master plan and is seen as the hub of the city, with City Hall at its hear t, where the open space network and four neighbourhoods meet.

It will provide the setting for many major new developments, including the former Odeon site.

The master plan proposed the reconfiguration of the Interchange and the development of an innovative business forest - siting businesses within a tree-lined park area.

They would frame a piece of open space currently occupied by the magistrates cour t and Tyrls police station.

The original master plan envisaged downgrading Princes Way and Hall Ings but highways surveys suggest this is not possible and proposals are being amended to accommodate high volumes of traffic on those streets.

The costs of relocating the police station and cour t could mean increasing the size of the business forest.

The Channel. . .

would include a new urban village with a sequence of attractive public water gardens lined with bars, cafes and shops.

It is seen by Alsop as a main area for socialising, shopping and living.

But investigations have shown his vision of recreating the canal in this area may not be feasible.

As with other neighbourhoods, the guide proposes commissioning a star building.

It is likely to be connected to Broadway with a continuous public space containing a strong water feature.

The guide also calls for buildings to create "eyes" onto the street with windows on the ground and upper floors. Street cafs will be encouraged and public spaces made available for events and performances.

Any arcades or malls here would be expected to remain open in the evening and at weekends.

The Market. . .

isthe hear t of Victorian Bradford and contains its existing retail core.

It is seen in the master plan as a strengthened shopping area and place to live.

The design guide proposes improving the streets and squares and introducing cour t yards.

Traffic would be reduced and a new garden of tranquillity, associated with Drewton Street mosque, created.

The Valley. . .

isthe neighbourhood most likely to change from the master plan vision.

The decision to develop the Odeon Cinema site, the completion of student housing blocks and proposals for the redevelopment of Beehive Mills all question the practicality of creating large areas of park land.

But it is proposed Bradford Beck be uncovered and run at surface level along the valley.

Thornton Road is proposed as a tree-lined boulevard section of the inner ring road and links would be created from the university campus in to the city centre.

Elsewhere in the design guide, it calls for all planning applications for large developments, over 35 hectares, to have their own master plan and involve more than one architect The design guide will be available tomorrow on the Council web site www. bradford. gov. uk. Representations can be made to the Director of Design, Planning and Transport, 8th Floor, Jacob's Well, Nelson Street, Bradford BD1 5RW. e-mails can also be sent to ldf.consultation@bradford.gov.uk