Bradford East MP David Ward has called on the Government to create a growth strategy for northern industrial cities such as Bradford.

Mr Ward (right) has written to his fellow Liberal Democrat, Business Secretary Vince Cable, asking for a strategy to be published to help northern cities particularly hard hit by the recession.

It follows the news last month that Bradford had not been selected to become an enterprise zone which would have offered businesses within its boundaries discounted rates, superfast broadband and fast-track planning Mr Ward said: “The Government are talking the talk on regional re-balancing, but current policy does not go far enough to address the huge inequalities that already exist. Northern cities like Bradford were hit particularly hard by the recession and history shows that the gap only gets wider as the economy recovers.

“The problems we face here are complex, and if we are going to see genuine re-balancing then there has to be a joined-up strategy across all areas of Government.

“This has to include supporting new housing, tackling low education attainment, and providing the right support for new businesses to start up here. It also means giving cities the power to shape their own future whether that be by setting up an enterprise zone or being allowed to re-invest their business rates doing what works best for them.

“I am calling on the Government to publish a strategy to tackle the problems which have long held back northern industrial cities.”

Councillor David Green, the executive member for regeneration said: “As a local authority we are continuing to do what we can to regenerate Bradford but it’s made increasingly difficult by the delays and lack of direction that we are receiving from Westminster and Whitehall.

“An example is the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward invested heavily in strategic sites in the Bradford area to assist in regeneration and at the moment for the last 15 months we have been unable to get any view as to who is now going to run those sites and whether the intention is to use them to regenerate the city or sell them to the highest bidder.”

Councillor Glen Miller said: “A strategy to help cities in less affluent areas may be helpful, though talk is cheap and we need actions. I think that many areas could lay claim to being worthy of their own dedicated Minister and I cannot see what these would do other than make the regeneration of our cities a divisive affair with poorer cities competing against each other.”

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