There are growing signs that the resurgence many have hoped for in Bradford is well and truly on the way after the city’s economic potential was championed in the House of Lords.

The start of the Westfield scheme has long been seen as a potential catalyst for economic revival in the city and the rest of the district, and there are now growing signs that will be borne out over the next few years.

During the debate, Baroness Eaton called on ministers to meet with economic leaders in the city – and to extend the City Centre Growth Zone for another two years from December this year until March 2017.

Hopefully, her words will now be heeded by ministers and the scheme extended to help attract more retail developments as the city centre is transformed.

And ministerial support for Bradford Council’s Producer City initiative, which she is calling for, will help ensure that scheme has a real impact in bringing more engineering and manufacturing capacity into the district.

The true potential of the district was recognised in the Lords debate, which was specifically about Bradford, with peers united in their praise of the city. But we now need to see those words backed up with action, and the first step would be to extend the growth zone.

Fittingly, it came the same day Leeds-Bradford was honoured in the travel industry ‘oscars’ along with local airline Jet 2, underlining the potential the district has to exploit its location and its people to move forward as the recession ends.

To paraphrase what Baroness Stowell of Beeston, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Communities and Local Government, said during the debate, Bradford is a wonderful city with a greater and more powerful story to play. Let us hope she can help us to ensure that story is told.