Vicar who's seen hope and action turned into results

Two damaging riots followed by the conversion of Lister's Mill from derelict dump to stylish apartment blocks, the construction of a community medical centre off Oak Lane and the multi-million pound transformation of Lister Park - these are just some of the changes George Moffat has experienced since 1993.

When he first got here to be vicar of St Paul's, Manningham had yet to undergo significant change. It was still known as the city's premier red light area.

"I remember girls standing on top of telephone boxes near St Paul's, touting for business. They must have been high on something.

"Bradford had an air of abandonment - which is insupportable. Our country cannot allow major cities to go down the pan. Not enough was being put into the cities by government.

"Ministers would come here and say, You've got a problem, so solve it,' when the answer was not as simple as that. The middle class were leaving. They have left and they're not coming back.

"Our whole idea of cities needs to be reconsidered because people don't live, work and play in the city now: they drive in and then leave it.

"We are not downtown Florence where people live and work and where there are little restaurants and caf-bars around every corner. We are fragmenting; it takes a lot of time to regenerate," he said.

If some of these views seem surprising for a vicar, that may be because he has never seen his role as simply a minister serving a congregation; Mr Moffat has sought to work with the local community, most notably perhaps, as a member of the Manningham Mills Community Association.

It was in 1997 that this organisation began the fight to rescue derelict Lister's Mill from decay and ultimately doom. Although the Urban Splash solution - converting parts of the complex into luxury apartments - wasn't quite what the community association envisaged, the transformation has had a marked improving effect on surrounding shops and houses.

Mr Moffat said: "Keying into that group of people full of hope was hugely positive. There it was, this bleak, dark building, in the middle of this Mipuri community, a shocking indictment to capital abandonment. The message that sent out was hugely negative.

"The mill was symbolic of the part it could play in the regeneration of Manningham. I was really privileged to be a part of that. The community association reflected this area; it was hugely good.

"I'll leave Manningham on the cusp of change: new things are happening in the community at large. East Europeans are moving back into the area and they are going to bring about change, particularly in local schools," he said.

Last year plans were being made for closing Roman Catholic churches and schools. Now Bradford has hundreds more Roman Catholics, principally from Poland, who want to work, settle and raise families here at least until the economic situation in Poland has demonstrably improved.

"Overall I think this is going to be a change for the good in terms of cultural and demographic mix. It may be Eastern Europeans who redeem the city. They've survived Naziism and Communism; they have taken a lot and have shown they are resilient. They've got a gutsier attitude to their faith that the English haven't had for years," he added.

That's the voice of a border Scot rather than a militant Highlander. George Moffat was born and raised in Hawick, home town of former rugby union star Gavin Hastings and commentator Bill McClaren.

He was not drawn to the ministry by the influence of his family but from his love of singing in the local church choir.

"I think my dad wondered why I wasn't drinking myself silly like every other Hawick man," he said.

He has been in the church for 35 years and draws his inspiration from ordinary people. Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Terry Waite and Dietrich Bonhoeffer are the universal figures he admires; but the acts of unnamed, ordinary people reinforce his faith.

"Neighbours and individuals who have made such a difference, living an authentic life, a life of sacrifice but full of grace - not economically successful or any of that kind of guff," he said.

"I find practically a huge amount of respect for the church around here in the people I meet. I don't find a lot of hostility. Puzzlement sometimes; but people are generous. They are saying they object to the excesses of materialism. Deep down people have got more sensible values."

Mr Moffat and his wife Peta have two daughters, Basilie and Zemirah. Basilie is a member of the British Olympic rowing squad and hopes to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

"I have been used to the mode of not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel; but now I am more confident. The Westbourne Green Community Health Care Centre has lifted Oak Lane. There is a greater variety of shops," he said.

Having walked round part of his parish before and after the interview I can testify to improvements to shop fronts and residential properties at least to the south of Lister's Mill, which now has what looks two huge red croquet hoops in front of the building.

Grocery shops and takeaways have been supplemented by smart-looking finance offices and hair salons. Pockets of the old dereliction still exist, but all in all Manningham appears to be going in a more positive direction.

George Moffat contemplates his last few months in the parish with a feeling of optimism for the people round about.

When for the last time he locks the red front door of the large stone house in Selborne Grove and fastens the hefty red front gate, George Moffat will be able to drive out of the parish of Manningham knowing that it has more going for it than it did when he arrived in 1993 and heard those siren calls from the tops of telephone boxes.