THE Government's northern powerhouse plan will only be reality when there are "shovels in the ground", according to Bradford's business leader.

Andy Caton. Bradford Chamber of Commerce president, told its annual dinner that the powerhouse, which had started as a political gimmick, was a good idea - but needed to be a promise fulfilled.

He said it was time for the Government to give the North a deal in the same way as it did for Scotland following the independence referendum.

He said: "For Bradford, our neighbours, for the North of England, this is our moment. A political project will not help address the problems of Bradford, or help enable the growth of all our businesses, however an economic revival, with Bradford as an engine room to an economic powerhouse, is a historic opportunity for this chamber’s members, and the people of our city."

Mr Caton said the powerhouse project should lead to a fully interconnected region - and called for a high speed TransPennine rail link to be delivered before the planned London-to Leeds HS2 route.

He said the Northern Powerhouse remained a promise to be fulfilled but would not be a success .until it is delivered on.

"It may have been the Government’s idea, but their commitment still needs to be seen with spades and shovels in the ground. It was the Chamber here in West and North Yorkshire who fought the fight for the electrification of the line to Manchester from the city region after it was paused.

"It will take our collective business voice to be clear to get an infrastructure fit for Bradford, and the North as a whole.

"We will need to put the case that the congested roads in the city which lengthen the time for our staff getting to work, delay deliveries and isolate us from our closest neighbours be dealt with, alongside ensuring that HS3 turns into something real and timely and not just a pipe dream. We need it to deliver substantial capacity and journey time improvements, before HS2 – not after it," said Mr Caton.

Mr Caton described the new Broadway shopping centre as "an unmissable, tangible and exciting milestone in the city's way forward.

But the city still faced problems, including ensuring the growing number of young people gained transferable skills.

"We must stop simply picking up the pieces when some of our schools let down our young people. We must instead help make the step change to a city where every child not only has the basics, but the transferable skills to get them started and build upon for a lifetime, alongside aspiration to be a success in one of our companies, or - indeed - to start their own," he said.