The new Aldermanbury office block has had a disappointing history. Its former developers, 3D, stopped work on it with only the basement car park completed.

Then hopes rose when the York-based developers Huntington took over the project, won approval for a £9 million scaled-down version of the scheme, and completed it in June when they said it was hoped to have an occupant for it by this month.

However, the handsome new building still stands empty. Although the estate agents responsible for letting it said in February that the block had attracted interest from 30 serious prospective tenants, none of them has signed up.

What is the problem? The estate agents now say, reasonably, that it is better to wait for one quality, long-term tenant than to let the building to a variety of tenants on short-term leases. But why is a tenant of the right calibre taking so long to find?

The suggestion from Bradford Chamber of Commerce, that the uncertain state of the economy has hit the plans some companies might have had to relocate or expand, makes sense. The building delay has caused the project to miss the economic good times.

It is not good for Bradford to have a prestigious new building like The Aldermanbury standing empty for month after month, particularly when the Abbey National is soon to move out of Provincial House and other city-centre blocks are seeking occupants. The Council needs to put a bit more energy into selling Bradford to the outside world, but it also must put a the brakes on further similar development until we can fill the office space we already have.

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