THE saga over the proposed redevelopment of the Cock and Bottle pub in Bradford shows just what a fine line there is to tread between the need to regenerate and improve run-down areas and the desire to protect our heritage and past.

Plans had been submitted to Bradford Council to redevelop the historic pub which were opposed by real ale campaigners CAMRA on the grounds that they would wipe out the history of this long-standing venue.

Twice Bradford Council approved the plans and twice it has been over-ruled by the High Court, which has quashed the permission to alter the pub so that owner Aftab Ali could reopen it as a restaurant.

This should now send the clearest possible signal that the days of blithely damaging our genuinely historic buildings without due thought for what we are losing are long gone.

It is good news to those who wish to preserve our heritage that there are legal safeguards in place which will protect such buildings even if the local authority deems drastic changes to them to be suitable.

No doubt Bradford Council acted with the very best intentions when it approved the plans for the Grade II-listed Cock and Bottle but, thankfully, there was a way to ensure it was not the final decision.

That said, Mr Ali will no doubt be greatly disappointed that his plans have not come to fruition. It is to be hoped that there can be discussions to look at some way forward so that his generally laudable plans to open a new business in Bradford can be facilitated without the need for wiping out such important Victorian architecture.