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  1. ITV Report

New shops and bars open in tunnels under Bradford

New gin bar inside Sunbridge Wells tunnels in Bradford Photo: ITV News Calendar

Bradford's newest city centre retail and leisure destination has been officially opened. The Sunbridge Wells tunnels have been converted into an underground market of bars and boutique shops.

Customers have today had their first chance to explore three storeys of below-ground space that has been shut for almost half a century.

Bar staff make a cocktail in the new Gin Bar Credit: ITV News Calendar

Originally a 13th century quarry, the site's heyday was as a nightclub named The Little Fat Black Pussycat in the 1960s. Since then it has been closed, until today.

Watch Jon Mitchell get a tour of the excavations in 2014.

Developer Graham Hall Credit: ITV News Calendar

The developer behind the renovation first dreamed up the idea for excavating and renovating the space some 27 years ago. For the past nine years he has been working to turn his vision into the centre which opened today:

"Well I hope it increases the footfall into Bradford, i.e. the night life, and it's not just this place, the other bars will succeed better because of this because there's more places to come into Bradford. We're not in competition, we're all working together, that's basically it."

– Developer Graham Hall
Graham Hall's parents cut the ribbon on his new development Credit: ITV News Calendar

This is just phase one of this development. Further tunnels are yet to be opened and Graham Hall plans to carry on working to renovate them for a future extension to the centre.

Watch James Webster's full report from today's opening:

A-SUNBRIDGEWELLS Play video

You can also watch a longer tour of Sunbridge Wells as James Webster took us for a live look around the centre at lunchtime:

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