An economic blueprint for Bradford will be drawn up using the results of a massive survey commissioned by the district's Training & Enterprise Council.

Hundreds of people throughout the district have been sent a questionnaire from the Local Futures Group and many will be interviewed as part of the survey.

The economic strategy will be linked to a wider Sustainable Development Strategy taking in the social and environmental aspects of regeneration.

The London-based research consultancy, formed last June, is headed by John Fisher, Mark Hepworth and Paul Williams who previously worked together at the Henley Centre for Forecasting.

The survey will be followed by a series of workshops where the first stage of the firm's analysis will be presented - an audit and evaluation of current economic strategies and the preparation of an economic development strategy for the district.

The Local Futures Group will provide an assessment of Bradford's competitiveness, look at the district's unique selling points for use in PR and marketing, provide an indication of the skills needed, look at help for the large number of small firms in the city and assess how Bradford will cope with the information society.

The study will also take a look at ways Bradford should deal with being next door neighbour to Leeds.

TEC chief executive David Wilkinson said today: "We are doing this jointly with Bradford Council and Bradford Congress

"The aim is to have an objective look at Bradford to establish current strengths and weaknesses and inform planning and future activities of the partners It has been done before but on a piecemeal basis

"We have great hopes for the long-term benefit of this co-ordinated activity."

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