HIGH street retailers Boots, Vodafone and Thomson will all close existing city-centre shops when they move to the Broadway centre, it can be revealed.

But the manager of Bradford's Kirkgate Centre has said she remains "upbeat" about the effect the new shopping centre will have on established shopping areas.

Boots the chemist will close its smaller store in Bank Street and will downsize its larger store in the Kirkgate Centre.

A spokesman said: "We’ll definitely be retaining a presence in the Kirkgate, though this store will be undergoing a full refurbishment to become a smaller health and beauty store."

She said this meant Boots' presence in Bradford would stay roughly the same size as before.

Meanwhile, phone retailer Vodafone will close its shop in the Kirkgate Centre and move staff over to its new Broadway centre unit.

But a spokesman said the Broadway outlet would be bigger, meaning they would be taking on more staff.

He said job numbers weren't finalised but described it as "good news in terms of employment".

And a spokesman for travel agent Thomson, which has a shop in the Kirkgate Centre, said: "As the lease for the Kirkgate store in Bradford was coming to a natural end, we’ve taken the decision not to renew it."

He said their new shop in the Broadway centre would offer customers "an enhanced holiday selection and booking experience".

High street giant Marks and Spencer has already revealed it will close its existing shop in Darley Street when it moves into the Broadway, while WHSmith will close its Kirkgate Centre shop on November 4, the day before the Broadway centre's grand opening.

But Catherine Riley, manager of the Kirkgate Centre, said she was confident they would attract new retailers to fill any gaps.

She said: "The visitor numbers to Bradford are going to increase, there's no doubt about that, and we as the Kirkgate Centre will benefit from that as well as the new shopping areas.

"Whilst there are some challenges for existing retail areas, particularly Darley Street, I'm pretty upbeat that there will be retailers lining up to fill those units.

"I don't think there's any doubt that visitor numbers and spend are both going to go up."

Val Summerscales, secretary of the Bradford and District Chamber of Trade, called the situation "a worry".

She said: "Whilst we are delighted to welcome Westfield, we always have to be aware that when everybody thinks everything is new jobs, some will be job transfers from existing businesses, and that would always be the case with any new development."

She said encouraging new businesses into Darley Street was a priority for the Chamber, because it served as an important link between the new development and the John Street area of town.

A Westfield spokesman said: "It is anticipated that footfall to the city centre will increase by 40 per cent when the Broadway opens, which will deliver a significant boost to local businesses in the city centre."

He added it would also bring a new car park with 1,300 spaces to the city centre and would boost the night-time economy.