The latest plans for the Provincial House site in Bradford have now been submitted to the local authority.

Serious reservations were expressed by individuals and organisations the first time St James Securities unveiled plans to bulldoze the Abbey National-owned building and replace it with a continental-style caf and bar development.

And there can be no doubt that this new proposal is little better.

The design of the building will remain very much as previously suggested - almost echoing the style of 1960s Petergate, which has been a blot on the landscape for many years.

The modifications made by the developers to the plans are minor and do not address the fact that the development is architecturally unworthy of a high-profile site in the shadow of one of the most magnificent municipal buildings in the country.

The latest plans propose a slightly higher building than the original ones and include space to let for an arts facility.

Bradford's arts community has been vociferous in its opposition to this scheme and the fact that the developers have now chosen to include some arts space within the proposed structure is likely to be seen as just a sop to its opponents.

The fundamental fact remains that this proposed building is not significant enough for such an important public space, opposite the Grade One-listed City Hall.

What this site needs is a building of architectural importance and, if that is not possible, then we should keep Provincial House as it stands. It, at least, has some scale and prominence.