A HUGE amount of money and effort has now been invested in the centre of Bradford to help rejuvenate a city which was worse affected than many by the recession.

The imaginative City Park has proved a surefire success in drawing the crowds since it opened in 2012.

The long-awaited opening of The Broadway shopping centre last November has given people extra reason to visit the city centre.

And investors are continuing to plough their cash into other rejuvenation projects like the under-construction XChange development and the addition of a new cinema in Broadway.

It has brought confidence and optimism to our city which have not been in evidence for a considerable time.

But our report today about a seemingly growing problem of homelessness, which is causing people to sleep rough outside St George’s Hall and even the magistrates’ court, will be a major concern to all those involved in Bradford’s regeneration.

So fierce is the competition for the shoppers’ pound that everything possible must be done to make the city welcoming and friendly.

But it also begs a lot of questions as to why these people are there and how they should be helped. In theory, options are available to them in the form of emergency hostels.

But if they are there because they are refusing help, we have to work out why that is so we can find a lasting solution.

If there are not enough places then we have to find ways of creating them - such is the vital importance of maintaining and building on Bradford’s future prosperity.