The chairman of a project to help regenerate the Manningham Lane area today urged business leaders to have their say on what needs to be done.

Manningham Means Business chairman David Cubitt said he wanted representatives from the 250 or so firms which are based along and around the road to attend a public meeting tomorrow.

Mr Cubitt, managing director of financial services firm Beaumont Robinson, said it was vital businesses had a stake in a programme of improvements planned for the area which has attracted funding from Bradford Council and Yorkshire Forward.

And he said signs were already emerging that the area could once again become a magnet for successful businesses.

Although many firms have quit the area in recent years, Mr Cubitt said the tide was beginning to turn.

"There are business that have left and that is not good and it is still a threat," he said. "The first thing we want to do is stop the haemorrhaging before we can look to get business moving in. But there are businesses that are now coming the other way."

And Mr Cubitt is confident other firms will begin to show faith in the area. He said companies such as Castles Shopfitters, Harrisons Lighting, and Woods, the music shop, had already said they were keen to stay and expand.

"We need to attract new companies and by making the place look better we might be able to do that because, at the moment, Manningham Lane is not as attractive as it should be," said Mr Cubitt.

"We believe we can bring businesses in from outside Bradford, and Leeds is an obvious target because it is overheating so much."

Drawings showcasing some of the improvements the group would like to see made to Manningham Lane will be on display at tomorrow's meeting at Bradford City Football Club.