Everybody has plenty to say when the question is asked about what are the problems facing Bradford and what needs to be changed or put right.

It would be easy, if not necessarily particularly helpful or constructive, for all of us to compile a list.

A much harder question is what can and should be done, and how should the district proceed in dealing with these issues. It is one that far fewer people are able to offer a direct answer to, let alone any sort of realistic coherent solution.

There have been many schemes, proposals and masterplans over the years, but few have lasted the course, largely because they have become mired in a plethora of vested interests.

So it is refreshing to see a plan put forward that has a clear and distinct message and very much plays to Bradford’s traditional strengths of inventing, manufacturing and selling things to the rest of the world.

The district has a proud industrial heritage and its manufacturing sector is still well above the national average. It makes perfect sense to use these strengths to drive the city forward.

The test of course will be whether the plan can be delivered, but it will succeed or fail on whether or not the whole community gets behind it and see it as a single goal that benefits everyone.

And that will mean all of us must put aside a whole multitude of interests for the greater good, so at last we can have a coherent plan that will go the distance and take Bradford forward.