With Bradford's rapidly expanding population there is clearly a demand for more homes to be provided for families in and around the city centre.

It is, therefore, quite right for Bradford Council to point out that developers should not entirely concentrate their efforts on providing flats for the student and singles housing market.

The relative low value of such properties make them rife to be snapped up in chunks by buy-to-let landlords - something which does not necessarily dovetail with the local authority's vision of sustainable city centre regeneration.

And while the further the expansion of the city's educational facilities such as the University and College is, of course, to be encouraged, it does lead to a problem of valuable city centre spaces being swallowed up for the needs of a largely transient sector of the population.

The Council has made it one of its priorities to attract more people to city centre living.

And there is a pressing demand to provide more homes for young families who are willing to put down roots in the city and become long-term contributors to the district's economy.

Bringing dormant buildings back into use and

re-developing previously-used sites is a key factor in achieving this as it provides family homes in the right areas for people where they want to live or work.

Importantly, using these sites also has added benefits in that it eases the pressure of building on the district's hugely under threat greenfield spaces and it also can help reduce the number of commuter journeys needed in and out of the city on our traffic-chocked roads and congested public transport system.