Regeneration is vital if Bradford is to go forward, and with the establishing of the successful City Park and Mirror Pool already under Bradford’s belt, and work on the Westfield shopping development about to get properly under way, there is at last positive movement in the right direction.

But bricks and mortar regeneration is only half the story. It is all well and good to get people into the city centre for shopping, but the trick is to keep them there for entertainment and dining.

So it is good that Bradford Council is looking at a long-term package of measures to improve what they call the “cultural offer” of Bradford, to make it a place where people want to come into to relax and be entertained and engaged as well as to shop.

One suggestion on the Council’s report is to position Bradford as a “City of Festivals”, which is an excellent idea.

Bradford is already the host for a number of events and festivals, both in the city centre and further afield in the district – the Bradford International Film Festival, the World Curry Festival, Bradford Animation Festival, the Ilkley Literature Festival, to name but a handful.

Bringing these together under the umbrella of an identifiable brand may well go a long way to establishing a sense that Bradford is a place where people can enjoy cultural experiences together.

There is much work to do, and simply rebranding existing events does not quite go far enough, of course, but this is only part of Bradford Council’s plan and it will be interesting to see how the proposals develop and are implemented, because a stronger cultural offer can only be to Bradford’s benefit.