Bradford's blueprint to bring about community harmony is expected to provide a model for other towns and cities.

More than 30 communities and thousands of people have been involved in an outline plan which has been developed over the past year - and many projects which have already started will be expanded and further developed.

Since the outline plan was approved by the Home Office 13 months ago, the Council and its partners have worked on projects and say major strides have already been made, including the setting up of the Bradford and Keighley Youth Parliament, citizenship work with youngsters and partnership schemes linking schools and communities.

The Council has now been short-listed by the Government as a prospective Beacon authority because of its work.

That designation would make it a national model on how to deal with the issues.

Today, Council leader Margaret Eaton said: "The important thing to realise is that this plan is not just for Manningham and Girlington but to cover the whole district and deal with issues which trouble people in all areas.

"A huge amount of work has been done. But while we can all feel proud of what has already been achieved to bring our communities together, it is important to plan ahead to ensure this work continues to flourish."

The Community Cohesion plan is based on the four agreed themes of equitable outcomes, civic pride and participation, community relations and community safety.

Bradford North police divisional commander, Chief Superintendent Phil Read, said: "I think it is a really exciting opportunity for communities across the whole of Bradford and Keighley to move forward on community cohesion issues.

"It is about us all living and working together. The key components of the plan enable that to happen."

But there were calls for the plan to be extended to cover a wider range of divides affecting communities.

Councillor David Green, deputy leader of the council's Labour Group, who is also spokesman for community cohesion, said: "We want a wider debate about what community cohesion really means and a wider agenda should be pursued at getting to the heart of it rather than only the issue of race and cohesion, although we know that is immensely important. I think we are in danger of ignoring some of the other divides, including class, villages versus towns and many other things."

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, said: "I think we have some exciting and innovative things on the ground. But I believe there is a lot more work to be done, spread over a wide area. This seems to centre around Bradford and the council estates."

John Pennington, president of Bradford Chamber of Commerce said: "I am getting a bit tired of plans and want to see some action. They appear to have spoken to the same people and not involved major private employers who are very relevant."

Bradford West Labour MP, Marsha Singh, said: "It is a step in the right direction and I welcome the initiative to nip problems in the bud. But I look forward to the regeneration of Manningham Mills as a vital and enormous community cohesion step."

And Ishtaq Ahmed, information officer for the Bradford Council for Mosques, said he thought the plan needed to be pinpointed to the communities themselves to be successful.

"The only people who can prevent trouble are the people themselves. We need to invest in the communities and community leaders to make sure we can create individuals who can tackle and deal with day-to-day problems in the communities they are in."