Bus company bosses will be consulted in a bid to stop Bradford Cathedral being "cut off" from the city centre.

Cathedral representatives are trying to persuade the Council to give the cathedral consideration when the city centre is redesigned in the masterplan.

Under current plans, buses would continue to travel down Church Bank and in front of St Peter's House, forming a barrier between the cathedral enclave and Broadway Shopping Centre.

But Ulrike Knox, Bradford Cathedral's new architect, today described the latest round of top level talks with the Council as "very constructive."

She said the Council's city centre design engineers seemed willing to listen to the cathedral's proposals and she added that the next step could be to approach bus company First with a view to finding an alternative bus route. If that could be achieved, cathedral leaders would like the area in front of St Peter's House to be pedestrianised.

Mrs Knox said bollards would have to be installed at the bottom of Church Bank to stop traffic, while there would be on-street parking on Church Bank for those wanting to visit the cathedral.

Mrs Knox, one of only three female cathedral architects in the UK, said: "The people from the Council were very positive about our proposals and we are looking forward to working with them more closely.

"They are going to open up discussions with bus companies to look at alternative routes and we need First onboard so they can work with us to look at alternatives. It was clear from when I first came here that the plans for the city highlighted the cathedral as a star building but totally ignored it in terms of design and actually isolated it even more.

"Its topography does not help, but the way they have dealt with Forster Square means there's always going to be a barrier between the city and this little enclave. They are proposing to take the bus route right down below St Peter's House, which would cut off this area."

Alan Mainwaring, the Council's director of transportation, design and planning, said: "We have been in discussions with representatives from Bradford Cathedral and we are happy to work with them to try and help integrate them more into the city centre.

Talks are at a very early stage and there are a lot of parties who need to be consulted and involved before any decisions or changes are made."

But bus routes are not the only worry. Maintenance of the cathedral is being neglected due to financial problems.

The collapse of the Life Force flagship Millennium project left the cathedral financially destitute and owing about £5million.

Until St Peter's House is sold by the Millennium Commission, the cathedral cannot raise money without it going to the creditors, according to Mrs Knox.

The Millennium Commission is in the process of selling St Peter's to Asian arts company Kala Sangam.

will.kilner@bradford.newsquest.co.uk