Dear Reader, Ten years ago today, I took the unusual step of taking the whole front page of the Telegraph & Argus to set out our stall and pledge to "Fight for Bradford."

At the time, we were coming under fire from some corners of the city for pointing up some of the deficiencies of the city centre and of the Council and other leading bodies.

Several parties, most of whom have long since left the city to pursue other interests, felt that we shouldn't be telling people about the down side of life in this district at all: we should, they said, be putting a gloss on things and if we didn't we were letting the district down.

We disagreed. Then, as now, we believed that it was our job to tell it how it is. That if dozens of city centre shops were standing empty, for instance, it was our job to shout about it until those in a position to do so did something about it.

Like anyone in ill health, we had to recognise the problems before we could do something about it.

Ten years on, we still believe our philosophy was right. We believe our campaign changed attitudes and helped to drag the city out of its stupor.

Fighting for Bradford changed the language of officialdom and started to move the district towards a more "can-do" approach.

A great deal has happened in the last ten years and there is a huge amount of evidence that the district has moved on. Our prospects are certainly a great deal brighter.

Below, we set out some of the changes that have taken place in the last decade. We don't claim the credit for them but we do believe we have influenced change for the better.

What's certain is that the principles that drove us then are exactly the same today - which is why we decided to reproduce in full our front page from October 27, 1994 (opposite).

Ten years on the T&A is still Fighting for Bradford and still fighting for you, our readers, and we hope to be doing so for many years to come. . . .

Perry Austin-Clarke THE EDITOR City-centre living.

Some people mocked when the T&A first supported the view that people might like to live in Bradford city centre. But there has been a boom in the number of former commercial buildings being converted for residential use.Little Germany has become a prized address.Developments in Cheapside have turned eyesore properties into sought-after apartments.

There was a big rush to reserve the rooms with a view of Centenary Square when the building at the end of Market Street was converted to stylish living spaces. The mockers have been proved wrong.

Leisure Exchange.

After one of Bradford biggest planning debacles, the Leisure Exchange was finally built between Vicar Lane and the Shipley-Airedale Road. Although many consider that it leaves a lot to be desired architecturally, it has proved a big attraction and currently houses the Cineworld multiplex, Hollywood Bowl, bars and restaurants and the Holiday Inn budget hotel, with a large Gala casino set to open at the beginning of next month. The adjacent multi-storey car park has provided much-needed additional parking space.

Oastler Centre.

While the displaced Rawson Market butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers struggled to survive in the temporary market hall in Rawson Road, John Street Market was fully refurbished and renamed and space created there for them. The popular centre, another ingredient in the major plan for the top of Bradford, now houses a wide range of stalls selling all sorts of goods.

West End.

It began as an over-blown, grandiose project intended to turn the area around the Alhambra into a massive leisure zone. Although the initial scheme soon collapsed, it has been replaced by more realistic redevelopment which has seen the creation of a well-patronised selection of bars, clubs and restaurants in the former King's Hall/Queen's Hall building, at the bottom end of Great Horton Road, and in the open space between Morley Street and the skating rink. Wardley House, above the ice rink, has been converted into student accommodation.

Rawson Quarter.

Rawson Market was prematurely demolished as a consequence of a planning blunder. It stood as a hole in the ground for several years, blighting the surrounding streets. Now, though, construction work is well under way on its replacement and retail tenants have been lined up for it. As a result, increased interest is being shown in shop units in the streets at the top end of town.

Sunwin House.

Yorkshire Co-operatives' ambitious plans for the Sunbridge Road/Thornton Road area have led to big improvements, particularly the building of a much-needed multi-storey car park. The knock-on effects can be seen in a revival of the fortunes of historic Quebec Street off Thornton Road.

National Museum of Photography, Film and TV.

The Science Museum demonstrated its confidence in its Bradford outpost by investing millions of pound in improvements and relaunching it with a blaze of nationwide publicity.

Broadway scheme.

Bradford's hopes for a large-scale revival lie with this massive project, which has already seen the demolition of some of the unloved 1960s buildings in Cheapside and Forster Square and will soon see others being flattened, to be replaced by modern shops, stores, restaurants, bars and a hotel, with more and more companies signing up for space.

Forster Square Retail Park.

Its critics fear that this popular development at the end of Canal Road - which ten years ago was a wasteland after a huge shopping-centre plan fell through - has taken trade away from the more traditional shops in the city centre and point out that it's nothing more than a line-up of big tin sheds of the sort that can now be seen in any town and city. However, major retailers are more than happy to occupy space there and the shoppers flock to it.

Bradford City.

Two seasons playing at the highest level gave the Bantams a huge boost and led to the creation of a Premiership-standard soccer stadium at Valley Parade for Bradford to be proud of. Although City's fortunes have waned in the last few seasons and it seemed at one time that the club would not survive, the people of Bradford rallied round a T&A-led campaign and it is once again showing the fighting spirit which, throughout its history, has seen it battle back pluckily from various setbacks.

Education.

After a 30-year T&A campaign Bradford took the plunge and scrapped the three-tier system which was out of step with the rest of the country. The reversion to a two-tier system involved a massive reorganisation which led to some schools being closed, others being extended and new ones being built. Since Serco took over the management of schools from the local education authority, standards have begun to improve. There is still a long way to go, but results are now much better than they were ten years ago and climbing.

Bradford Masterplan.

After a long T&A campaign, the URC Bradford Centre Regeneration was set up and commissioned a masterplan from architect Will Alsop which, while it might not be to everyone's taste, is imaginative and ambitious and shows that Bradford is prepared to "think big".

Community cohesion.

Since the trauma of the Manningham riots a vast amount of work has been done to bridge the gap between Bradford's various communities and to tackle the sources of tension and unrest. It is now widely accepted that the people of Bradford have a better understanding of each other's philosophies and lifestyles and are determined to make sure that there is never a repeat of the sort of disturbances which did so much damage to the city's reputation.

Centenary Square.

Bradford had for years needed a wide-open space at its very heart, where a wide range of community events could take place. It got it with the creation of this fine square in front of City Hall, which was officially opened by The Queen.

Eastbrook Hall.

This home of Methodism in Bradford still stands as a charred ruin but plans have been drawn up to redevelop it behind its famous facade.

Odsal Stadium.

Although the Superdome scheme fell through (as the T&A predicted it would), Bradford Council sold the ground to the Bulls who have already developed some of it and have put forward plans for a prestigious "sporting village".

Bingley Relief Road.

After a 40-year campaign by the T&A, this road was finally built to take the grinding traffic out of the centre of Bingley and allow the town to come back to life.

Lister's Mill.

After years of neglect of this historic landmark, the major scheme to rescue it and give it a role which would spearhead the regeneration of that area of Bradford finally got underway.

Quality of life.

Bradford people rallied famously behind two major health-based T&A campaigns, to provide an MRI scanner and to fund vital cancer research through the Bradford Cancampaign. As a result, the generous people of this city can now have diagnostic treatment which previously had to be provided in Leeds and they have the satisfaction of knowing they are supporting research which could go on to save a great many lives.