I've always had a huge soft spot for Bradford.
This isn't just because I am such an admirer of Tony Reeves, the hugely energetic and passionate chief executive of the city council and BURA Board member (although of course I am), and it isn't just because I love the variety and texture of the huge number of listed buildings (although of course I do), and it isn't just because I've had some memorable curries and some memorable evenings there (although of course I have).
I love it for its resilience, can-do attitude, quirky character and sense of humour (see below!).
And congratulations on becoming UNESCO City of Film too, this year. Richly deserved for all of the reasons already mentioned !
My sister read for a Masters Degree in International Relations at Bradford University. I think she may have acquitted herself rather well on the course but, as all you out there who know her will attest, given that she could start a row in an empty room, they didn't manage to teach her many diplomatic skills!
Bradford has just disbanded its Urban Regeneration Company (URC) rather than succumb to the temptation to transmogrify it into a City Development Company (or any other such vehicle) and I am sure this is only the first of many such movements over the year or so as we gear up for the New World.
Obviously this is in line with any call from Whitehall to cut back, or the call from David Cameron to have a "bonfire of the quangos" (not such a new idea this, Dave, as many commentators were quick to point out - the devil is in the detail: just HOW do you do away with all this apparatus whilst still delivering social policy objectives? Answers on a postcard please folks).
And they've disbanded all the extraneous paraphernalia without fuss or noise. As Tony Reeves himself says, incoming investors need certainty of land supply and of planning permission; it's a close knit community and the city council, with its proactive leaders and imaginative officers, can supply this admirably without the need for a third tier - which could potentially only get in the way.
Hats off to Bradford for showing the way for the upturn. They are clearly open for business.
Leave a comment
What a user pic? Get a Gravatar!