Bulldozers could be on city centre streets before Christmas as Bradford Council races to claim a £6 million grant from Europe by the end of the year.

The widespread demolition of about 80 properties - including most of Broadway, Central House, Midland House and Petergate - is included in Bradford Council's Connecting the City scheme which paves the way for the planned £200 million Broadway shopping development.

Connecting the City also includes wide-scale alterations in road systems including removal of traffic from Petergate and making Church Bank bus-only, with the public transport leading into the Broadway scheme.

The £20.6 million road and demolition scheme should already have started to meet a European deadline of December for spending the £6 million contribution it has allocated towards Connecting the City.

But Broadway developer the Forster Square Development Partnership is considering future funding and business arrangements and has no firm date to start building work.

The partnership was dealt a blow in December when Government regeneration agency Yorkshire Forward refused to meet a gap in funding. But the Telegraph & Argus revealed exclusively yesterday that development and investment giant Stann-ifer was in negotiation with the partnership about the shopping scheme.

The Council is expecting an amended planning application to be submitted and, when all the issues are settled, it will be able to start the work.

Val Summerscales, secretary of Bradford of Chamber of Trade, said: "This part of the city is now blighted and traders do not know how long they will be able to continue operating. They don't know what arrangements to make."

"I am delighted they appear to be moving forward and hope efforts have been made to bring the Broadway scheme back on track.

Bradford Council's executive member for regeneration, Councillor Simon Cooke, said: "We need to move quickly because we are already six to eight weeks behind. We hope to be in a position to make a start in summer."

Letters were this week being sent out by Council solicitors to owners of properties due to be demolished updating them on the situation. They were also double checking information about properties which will be acquired through compulsory purchase orders.