It is absolutely astonishing to learn that Yorkshire Forward is looking to defer paying a £1.3 million slice of its promised funding for the City Park.

As anyone who has visited Bradford recently will be all too aware, work on this flagship regeneration project is already advanced.

A building has been torn down, the ground dug up, and roads altered as this hugely important scheme begins to take shape.

Surely this means that water-tight contracts have been agreed and signed by all concerned – including Yorkshire Forward?

And that being the case, how can it be possible for the Government-backed agency to suddenly decide to alter its side of the bargain?

Bradford Council has done exactly the right thing by pledging its commitment to pressing ahead and finishing the park on time.

There have been too many setbacks in other regeneration projects in the city already – such as the stalled Broadway shopping centre development – and further uncertainty would have been a body-blow to the city’s reputation.

But there must be no suggestion that the Council should ultimately have to find an extra £1.3 million itself – something that would hit local council tax payers one way or another.

If Yorkshire Forward cannot find the money before it is wound up then the Government must honour its commitments through the new funding powers that replace it. A promise, after all, is a promise.