The Tuscany restaurant has already been built on the Paragon Business Park, just off the A650, but after a difference of opinion about how it would be run, Graham Mann, of H2O Building Services, and Denis Lefrancq, of Leeds-based No 3 York Place restaurant, have gone their separate ways.

Mr Mann told the Express that Tuscany Restaurant Ltd had gone into liquidation last month and the property was now in the ownership of Yorkcourt Properties, who run the business park.

He added: "Two years in the planning and building and it hasn't worked out – I'm very cheesed off.

"It was going to set the standard for Wakefield and I spent a lot of money on the building, but there has been a breakdown in the partnership.

"Hopefully someone will take it over and finish it off. It now needs someone with £500,000 and the expertise to run a quality operation."

The restaurant, based on an Italian theme, would have seated 200 people with a 100-person capacity wine bar sat alongside it.

Mr Lefrancq said: "We had a conflict of agreement. I thought it was a good project, concept and location, but if I couldn't bring my own knowledge to the partnership, it wasn't worth it.

"I thought he was still going to carry on with it after I left, but I am sorry to hear about this."