It was an accident that ensured that Bradford, of all the great northern cities, was chosen to be one of the first three places in the country to have a Human Neighbourhood Project.

"It was one of those cases of not what you know, but WHO you know," said the Reverend Geoffrey Smith, former Canon of Bradford Cathedral.

Mr Smith received a call from former Methodist minister David Clarke, founder of the Human City Institute, which is behind the Human Neighbourhood Project.

The pair had worked closely together for four years, at the Centre for Applied Christian Studies in Birmingham.

So when Mr Clarke needed a northern city to join Swindon and Birmingham on the list of pilot schemes, his thoughts turned to friends in Bradford.

"He knew I was in Bradford and shared the concerns that underpinned the Human City Initiative," Mr Smith said.

"I was able to introduce him to one or two folks in Bradford. There's something about Bradford which marks it out as a community of particular interest in urban regeneration. It's obviously culturally very mixed, and has a great ability to welcome incomers, going back centuries."

Thanks to support from Bradford Council and the Council for Voluntary Service the project is now up and running - based at the CVS offices in Sunbridge Road, and backed up by an administration worker provided by the Council. Funding has come from the National Lottery and the DETR (Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions).

Co-ordinator Claire Fitton has targeted three areas of Bradford: Wapping/Otley Road, Great Horton, and Allerton/Lower Grange.

And, already, 15 community projects have sprung up in those areas, with her support and encouragement.

"We have links with projects in South African townships and in Chicago, where they work on the basis that 'every block is a village'," she said.

"It's interesting that people in cities all over the world have the same concerns.

"I visited Johannesburg and people there said the biggest issues were crime and grime.

"They feel the same as people in Bradford, that it's filthy and it's scary. I think these are the same issues for most ordinary people in city centres everywhere."

One of Claire's success stories is in Lower Grange, where a group of residents have come together to spruce up their dilapidated community centre.

The area now has a usable building, which is a clear benefit. But more importantly - the people involved in the revamping exercise now know each other's names, and their children have made new friends.

"The lack of a community centre has been an issue in that area for ages," Claire said. "We got some paint donated by Shipley Paint and spent a whole day at the community centre in Chaffinch Road, it was brilliant."

The garish, multi-coloured results might not be the most professional paint job ever, but proved a great bonding experience for locals, she added.

"Everybody came out, brought their own butties, and got to know one another," she said. "It had been hard trying to get people to go to committee meetings, but after the day spent painting the centre, people were volunteering. It was linking people up. It was good to get some life back into the building, even if it was just for one day. You need sunglasses to go there now - it's orange, purple, yellow and red. Before, it was dark grey prison walls. People used to run in, and run out again because it was depressing.

"But after we painted it, people were happy to sit around afterwards, having a cup of tea."

Other community initiatives in the area include a campaign to get bus services going to link the estate to a local supermarket, and plans to create a community garden to grow low-cost fruit and vegetables for local families.

Community activity happens all over the Bradford district - so would these self-help schemes have happened without any help from the Human Neighbourhood Project?

Claire is honest: "Some of them would have happened anyway, yes. But some of the others wouldn't. Some might have stopped at the first hurdle. A lot of it is having someone like me to talk to, who hasn't got their own agenda, I'm independent of the council, for instance."

Anyone in one of the three target areas, who is interested in working with the Human Neighbourhood Project, should get in touch with Claire.

"Anyone that's got a good idea, that will improve their neighbourhood, or that they have wanted to do for a long time - I'd like to hear from them," she said.

The Human Neighbourhood Project can be contacted via the CVS on (01274) 722772.

You can access the website of the Human City Institute, www.humancity.org.uk