More than 100 city-centre businesses have appealed to Bradford Council to keep John Street Market open during its £3 million refurbishment.

They have handed in a petition to leading councillors and the authority's chief executive Ian Stewart saying they are horrified at the prospect of the market shutting for four months during the work.

They argue the effect on their businesses would be devastating.

The petition, signed by businesses in all the streets surrounding the market, claimed: "If the local authority is serious about the regeneration of Bradford city centre it has to vote to refurbish the John Street site while it is open, otherwise everything said about regeneration is just words."

The petition was handed in as shopkeepers and tenants of John Street and Rawson Market received ballot forms from the Council to vote for closure or to keep John Street open during the work.

If it closed the work would take four months, if it remained open that would become nine months.

There is bitter division over the revamp because the businesses around the market, as well as tenants in the nearby temporary Rawson Market Hall, say their trade will be decimated without shoppers going to the top end of the city to John Street.

All the businesses say they already face serious problems because the Council demolished the main Rawson Market and found it did not have the funds to rebuild it.

The area has been left as a building site and traders claim shoppers are shunning that part of the city.

The shopkeepers and traders from John Street and Rawson Markets attended a meeting in City Hall to discuss the future with the Council's executive member for economy, Councillor Simon Cooke, and project manager Mick Binns about the future.

They threw in a barrage of heated questions and demanded to know whether a rent reduction would be given if tenants chose to stay while the refurbishment was taking place.

Those who say they want it to close during refurbishment believe they will lose customers because of the dirt and upheaval and their already struggling businesses will fold. Coun Cooke told traders there would be rent reductions at John Street Market where businesses were threatened by the work.

He urged all the businesses which would take part in the vote to think of the city centre.

"There are plusses and minuses for both sides. It could turn that part of the city into a desert if no customers were going to John Street. It could kill off remaining Rawson Market traders."

He said the result of the ballot would have a strong bearing on a decision by the Executive Committee on whether the market should stay open.