The passing of the August 31 deadline for signing the deal to develop the Vicar Lane site, with no completion announced, is cause for concern. There have been several delays already over this prestigious scheme, so it is hardly surprising that people should be starting to grow a little nervous in terms of firm start dates for the work.

The proposed Leisure Exchange is an excellent scheme for Bradford. It is important that it goes ahead as soon as possible. There is talk of a recession around the corner. If it arrives before the work begins there is a danger that confidence in such leisure schemes could be temporarily lost and a project which would be an important asset to Bradford might never get started.

The delay also puts the spotlight once again on a giant chicken winging home to roost - Rawson Market. The Council has earmarked the £6 million from the sale of the Vicar Lane site to rebuild the market. If the scheme falls through, that leaves the market traders in limbo - and leaves a great big hole in the ground in the centre of the city.

Even if the Vicar Lane deal is agreed, by the time the new market is completed in two years' time there might be very few traders left to move back into it from their "temporary" market hall in Rawson Road, if their fears prove justified.

The Council needs to press as hard as it can for the developers to commit themselves and start work - and at the same time it should start explaining the reasons for the delay fully to an increasingly sceptical Bradford public.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.