The prestigious postal address of "Centenary Square" in the heart of Bradford was officially in use last night.

The crescent-shaped £10 million leisure development, facing City Hall, has bars, restaurants and a coffee house and has brought a cosmopolitan air to the area.

Next year it will offer contemporary art and photography with the inclusion of two galleries.

More than 150 members of the city's business community and those involved in the development spilled out into the square to mark the event.

And a massive viewing screen was switched on to show a ten-minute trailer about the city. The screen will be officially opened next month in time for fans to follow England in the World Cup and will also show news programmes and major cultural events.

Ian Barraclough, managing director of developer St James Securities, said: "The Centenary Square development now has a truly cosmopolitan feel.

"The diversity of our occupiers is a great vote of confidence in the scheme as well as in the city of Bradford itself. This development will contribute greatly to the local leisure and cultural economy. We are proud of our long association with the city and particularly delighted that we have successfully delivered such an important and prestigious project."

The development has five leisure and retail units. The first company to sign up was the Wetherspoons pub chain, which opened Lloyds No 1 Bar there in 2004. Markaz Restaurant and Shisha Lounge opened in October, fusing Indian and Middle Eastern food.

Coffee house chain Starbucks and Chino Thai, offering Oriental cuisine, both opened earlier this year.

Syima Merali, director of Markaz, said: "This is a great location and it is great to have this piazza-style development in Bradford we have needed something like this. The variety of restaurants reflects the different cultures of the city. Developments like this show Bradford is regenerating it's nice to see something concrete happening."

Adam Johnson, duty manager of Lloyds, said it was an excellent site with a great deal of potential.

At one point, take-up of the units was sluggish and owners Asda St James applied to turn three of them into shops, which drew opposition from city-centre traders.

The modern building is made from granite, Yorkshire stone and red cedarwood. It attracted controversy at first, with critics saying it was not imposing enough for its prime site opposite the Grade I listed City Hall.

It replaced the towering Provincial House, which hit the ground in 2002 in a controlled explosion.

A huge coup for the complex is the relocation from York of the renowned Impressions Gallery. It will take over the building's upper floor in January.

The Arts Council has given almost £71,000 to help with the move and it will be used to provide education facilities and full disabled access ahead of the opening exhibition of work by Bradford artist Liza Dracup.

It will sit alongside a new city-centre gallery for Bradford, which will display work from the Council's own collections, including David Hockney pieces.

Funding has come from Bradford Council and the Millennium Commission's urban cultural programme.

Jane Glaister, the Council's director of arts, heritage and leisure, has worked with the developers for a year.

She said: "There has been a demand for generations to have an arts space in the city centre. Hopefully this will meet that demand."

A reception took place at the Markaz Restaurant last night with the official opening held at Chino Thai. Colourful street entertainers, including acrobats and a London keyboard soloist, joined in the celebrations.

Student Rebecca Townsend, 18, of Little Horton, Bradford, who was enjoying the entertainment, said: "Centenary Square was not somewhere I would have relaxed before now it is something to be proud of there are a variety of bars and restaurants. There is a European feel to it."

The 55,000 sq ft development was designed by award-winning architects Panter Hudspith.

e-mail: jo.winrow@bradford.newsquest.co.uk