It would be hard to find a single Bradfordian who could confidently argue that the former Yorkshire Building Society headquarters in Westgate was an architectural asset to the city centre. We have described it in the past as "squatting atop Bradford like a giant concrete pillbox" and have had no reason to alter our opinion.

It is one of those buildings you either love or hate. However, if there are any who love it they have kept their opinion to themselves. Those who have expressed a view about it have said they hate it and see it as a carbuncle.

So there is bound to be widespread support for a plan by a Manchester developer to remove its ugly concrete cladding, give it a complete makeover in stone, steel and glass, and create penthouses and apartments above a street-level mixture of shops, offices and a restaurant.

This certainly sounds like a big improvement on what is there at present. The building is in one of the most prominent positions in Bradford. It should be a showpiece, which the former Yorkshire BS building certainly is not and never was even by the standards of 1975, when it was built.

The building has largely stood empty since 1992 when the Yorkshire moved to its new headquarters on Rooley Lane. It has been a waste of a terrific site. We wish this developer well in his attempts to revitalise the existing building by stripping it down and giving it the sort of new look which will fit in better with the Bradford of tomorrow.