CITY HALL is an extremely important building for Bradford, sitting in a prominent location in the heart of the city centre and surrounded, as it is, by City Park.

In that respect, it’s important that it remains a showpiece building for everything Bradford has to offer.

In a city that’s full of fabulous historic structures, it ranks as one of Bradford’s finest examples of Victorian architecture.

As the backdrop to City Park, it needs to look its very best because it forms a key component of the picture that will be used most often to promote Bradford in the years to come. Indeed, the colourful fountains alongside a pristine City Hall building is an iconic image that’s now symbolic of our city and will be seen around the world.

It’s pleasing that the long-running work has been completed in time for summer to ensure all the new pictures taken in the months to come won’t be blighted by scaffolding.

Of course, the painstaking restoration project hasn’t been without its critics, who have questioned the wisdom of spending £4 million on the work at a time when cuts are being made to vital services due to mounting budget pressures.

While that viewpoint will have some degree of support, surely it would have been a far greater folly to let a magnificent Grade I listed building deteriorate to such an extent that even greater sums of money needed spending to make it fit for purpose. The current generation of Bradfordians are merely the guardians of this fine building and it would have been shameful not to preserve it for the enjoyment of future generations.