Bradford has real problems with some of its private housing - or, rather, with quite a lot of its private housing, judging by the evidence presented in a new Council report. Ten per cent of the district's owner-occupied houses are deemed to be unfit to live in. That is more than 14,500 private houses which deserve the tag of "slum".

This is not simply a case of whether or not the houses are fit for human habitation. There is also the wider issue of whether efforts to improve Bradford's image and brighten up the place both for those of us who live here and for visitors can make any real headway until the district's housing stock is spruced up. The two surely go hand in hand. An area cannot be considered to be smartened up until its standard of accommodation has been improved and the morale of the residents has been lifted.

Much of the property considered to be substandard is in areas where large households of extended families often struggle to manage on low incomes. They have somehow managed to buy their homes, but lack the resources to maintain them properly.

The problem is surely one for central government rather than for an under-resourced local authority. Some people might feel that taxpayers' cash should not be spent on private houses. However, unless the Government provides the funds for projects like the slum clearance suggested by the Manningham Housing Association there will be a downward spiral. The present slum houses will deteriorate further, and others will follow them.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.