Bradford Cathedral has finally won the promised £4.3 million for its major new millennium project, it has been revealed.

After months of delay, the Provost, the Very Reverend John Richardson made the announcement to businessmen in the city today.

And he spoke for the first time of the fears that the transformation of St Peter's House into the National Millennium Faith Experience would never take place.

He said: "There was always the fear that until all the partnerships were in place, it might not happen. So it was sheer delight when it was completed. Any one of the four partners pulling out at the wrong moment could have wrecked the project."

Builders are due to go on site today and start the transformation of St Peter's House into an important visitor attraction.

The centre, opening in time for Easter 2000, could be the pivot for a plan to regenerate Little Germany and create 300 jobs.

And the city has already contacted Buckingham Palace in the hope that a member of the Royal Family could perform the opening ceremony.

He made the announcement that the cash was in the bank for the project to hundreds of the city's business people at the annual Trade and Industry Service at the cathedral today.

He said in his sermon: "We can't wait any longer for big visions from great people because they are in short supply, as the recent news concerning Odsal's Stadium Superdome and the Vicar Lane Leisure Scheme prove to us. We must all use our abilities to do certain things well by lighting our own small fires in the darkness."

He added: "We look forward over the next 361 days to the millennium with hope, that today's dreams will certainly become tomorrow's realities."

Talking exclusively to the T&A earlier he said: "We are making the announcement today quite deliberately to boost morale on the first working day of the new year."

He said it was a huge relief to finally get the go-ahead from the Millennium Commission, after months and months of negotiations.

"We expected to complete at the end of June but the end of June became the end of September. We were on a tight schedule. We would have liked to start stripping out in September."

The building, in Foster Square, has often been blamed for masking the cathedral and making it one of the least visited in the country.

But when complete, it will provide a visitor centre celebrating the story of faith in the city and Bradford's famous sons and daughters in an exhibition designed by the creators of the Jorvik Centre in York.

There will also be a restaurant offering facilities for 80,000 people per year.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.