Bradford’s Urban Garden – blighted by flooding – is to be dug up at a cost of up to £30,000.

Heavy rain over the past few weeks has created pools in the £300,000 garden, built on part of the mothballed Westfield shopping centre site.

Now it urgently needs draining and pipes have to be put in to get rid of gathering water.

Bradford Council says it has no choice but to shut the garden temporarily and get the work done.

Although the garden was designed by Westfield and the Council to take into account the construction work already carried out on the Broadway site, the land was less porous than expected, said a Council spokesman.

There was no need for land drainage details to be included in the planning application to get the go-ahead for the garden because no buildings were going on top, said the spokesman.

He said as far as he was aware, no water saturation tests had been carried out because the site had been expected to be more porous.

“There is no requirement for planning applications to include information about land drainage if buildings are not being constructed, as is the case at the Urban Garden,” he said.

The bill for the drainage and remedial works will be split equally between Bradford Council, Westfield and Yorkshire Forward. The three organisations are hoping the cost will be closer to £20,000, but have said the total bill could reach the higher figure.

The garden cost £300,000 to put in place while Australian-based developer Westfield waits for the economy to recover sufficiently for it to start building the long-awaited £320 million shopping centre.

Last year, paths were installed, green spaces and lighting were put in situ and hoardings were removed on parts of the ten-acre city centre plot to transform the site into a garden.

Vital improvement work will get water that has been pooling on the site to flow away quicker, solving the risk of flooding, but it is likely to be the end of this month before the garden gates can open to the public again.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “Unfortunately we have no choice but to close the Urban Garden to carry out these remedial works. The improvements to the drainage should end the pooling of water and make the area more accessible for people to enjoy.”

In a bid to add to that enjoyment, a Council spokesman added: “A series of artworks are due to go on display soon which will also enhance the site and make it more appealing for use by the community.”