It is very encouraging that two of Bradford's historic buildings are being brought back into active service in the life of the city centre. With work about to begin on the burned-out shell of Eastbrook Hall and restoration recently completed at what is now known as City House at the bottom of Cheapside, new life is being breathed into what are basically fine old buildings.

The decision by Bradford West City Community Housing Trust to take over the premises formerly occupied by the Chamber of Commerce was excellent news for the city. It did not create a good impression to have the one-time home of the organisation representing Bradford businesses standing empty and forlorn on a prime site across the road from a prestigious city-centre hotel. The work done on it, retaining many of its best features, has greatly enhanced the look of Cheapside.

And now, after a wait of almost two decades, a start is to be made on creating offices, shops and apartments behind the landmark frontage of what was once described as "the Methodist Cathedral of the North" and "the most handsome building in Bradford" at the bottom of Leeds Road. To have allowed either of these buildings to be lost to Bradford would have been a calamity.

It's predicted that there will be 7,500 people living and enjoying their leisure in central Bradford in the next decade. But there is a third part to the equation, too - people working here. We now need more firms to follow the example of the developers of City House and the Eastbrook site and create not only living spaces but also workplaces in other old properties.