A plan to “stimulate economic development, investment and regeneration” in Bradford city centre over the next decade looks set to be drawn up by Council chiefs.

The vision is expected to define and position Bradford’s future direction to help create “a vibrant and successful city that everyone can be proud of”.

Bradford Council’s strategic director for regeneration and culture, Barra Mac Ruairi, will take a lead on the development of the city plan, if executive agree at its meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Mac Ruairi states in a report into the proposed new plan: “The impact of the economic downturn and the need to plan for a changing city centre now presents an opportunity for the local authority and partners to take a new approach to regeneration that helps to both define and position Bradford’s future direction and supports a more localised approach to the making of place, its economic development, investment, employment and the life of the city centre.”

But he warns: “The economic downturn and the reality of a slow recovery makes the prospect for attracting significant investment for large schemes difficult, suggesting a renewed approach to stimulating regeneration in the city centre is needed.”

The idea behind the plan is to develop a shared long-term view with partners on the type of city centre that is desirable and what they should be working towards.

It is intended to be a local approach to city centre regeneration while building on existing policy documents and strategies.

“The city needs to reposition itself for its future and will require a decade of continued prioritisation to facilitate its success,” said Mr Mac Ruairi.

It is expected that any such plan would need to bring: l enhanced and increased delivery and investment in the city centre l development of specific actions to achieve outcomes identified in the plan l greater alignment of delivery and service provision in the city centre; alignment of existing priorities and strategies to maximise impact on the city centre l a strategic approach to investment for the city centre l a city centre partnership approach to aligning activity and supporting community participation and engagement l and short, medium and long term delivery targets to measure progress and impact.

Council leader David Green, said: “It is intended to build on the success that we have had in the last couple of years in building City Park, with Provident Financial in its new building and Westfield progressing.

”We need to have a plan that gives comfort to people and explains the direction of travel. It will work in partnership with the people of Bradford and the businesses of Bradford for the next ten years.

“It’s not just about bricks and mortar though – it’s about the people, the culture and the heritage. What we want to create is a city that the people of Bradford are proud of and that investors and proud to invest in.”

The executive is expected to endorse the creation of a plan.