“Imagination and creativity” will be needed to breath new life into historic buildings that stand dormant across the district.

Andrew Mason, chairman of Bradford Property Forum, said Salts Mill, Saltaire, and Lister Mills, Manningham, were fine examples of buildings that had been given exciting new uses in recent years.

But he said Bradford was “blessed” with many more historic buildings, including a number of former mills, that required a similar level of ingenuity to ensure they had a sustainable future.

Mr Mason said: “When you look at what’s happened with Lister Mills, Salts Mill, Victoria Mills and Broadgate House, you can see that we’ve been inventive already.

“But we need to redouble our efforts and leave a legacy.”

Mr Mason said a working group from the property forum was working closely with English Heritage to draw up a list of the most important historic buildings in the district to ensure they received sufficient attention.

Sustainability will be the main topic of the property forum’s next meeting, to be held at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Bradford Road, Bingley, on Wednesday, May 19.

The speakers will be Joanne Pollard, chief executive of CO2 Sense Yorkshire, and Mark Fletcher, a director of consultants Arup and the Royal Academy of Engineering visiting professor to Bradford University