Bradford and Leeds councils are set to submit a joint bid for a share of £100 million to boost broadband speeds in the two cities.

The Government’s super-connected cities project will provide funding to ten cities to provide faster broadband access. The bidders will have to show how they will use that to drive growth and attract new businesses.

The UK’s four capitals – London, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh – will automatically benefit from the funding, along with six areas selected from the bidding process. Both Bradford and Leeds, along with Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Newcastle, Bristol, Nottingham and Birmingham are eligible to submit a bid.

Now it has emerged the chief executives of both authorities support a joint bid, rather than individual competing city bids because “the Leeds/Bradford area is recognised by the city region as a contiguous and interlinked urban and economic areas, central to the economy of the city region”.

Bradford Council’s executive member with responsibility for regeneration, Councillor David Green said: “I would hope there is a greater chance of success if it is a joint bid, but the main thing is to make sure that the bid that goes in meets the criteria being set for the project.

“What we are looking to achieve is the best outcome for Bradford and that often entails co-operation across the Leeds City Region. It will be more economically attractive to the providers and be of greater benefit in the creation of employment opportunities.”

An update on the proposals, which must be submitted by February 13, will be given at a meeting of the Leeds City Region Leaders’ Board on Thursday.

An announcement on the winning bids is expected in March.

Telecommunications companies BT and Virgin will strengthen their networks in the winning cities to deliver higher broadband speeds, and the city’s share of the £100 million can be used to provide coverage in areas where the companies will not go.