There is nothing wrong with the call from the new president of the Chamber of Trade for "bold and brilliant" road signs which tell the outside world that Bradford is an important place. Mr Jim Griffin was right to take office with a bullish message about the need for the district to make an impact and blow its own trumpet.

And surely few would question the point made by both Mr Griffin and the outgoing president, Mr Eric Hudson, that all organisations should work together for the good of the whole of Bradford and not expect the Council to do it all.

However, the "re-branding of Bradford" is not simply down to the Council and local businesses. It is to do with each one of us - the people who live here. As the district's new director of marketing, Owen Williams, points out, there are issues of citizenship and civic pride to address. Those issues are surely even more important than bright and upbeat new signs which let people know when they are entering Bradford.

It is a renewed sense of citizenship and pride which will deter people from leaving their rubbish in the streets and encourage them to akeep their homes and business premises tidy, particularly along the roads leading into Bradford. It is along those approach roads that the first impressions of the city are created, and those first impressions are vitally important.

Mr Griffin's "bold and brilliant" signs will be waste of money if they sprout from a sea of litter on cluttered pavements.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.