It is good news that the Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society is expanding, but perhaps less edifying for the district that this financial powerhouse feels it has to increase its operations in Leeds rather than its home city.

Although the Rooley Lane head office will be upgraded by YBS, it is closing its offices in Filey Street and New Augustus Street and taking on two floors of a former department store in Leeds city centre.

It seems surprising that YBS cannot find premises in Bradford for its welcome expansion – the city centre has beneficial rates thanks to its Growth Zone status for boosting employment, and there are empty properties such as the Thomas Cook building which are purpose-built to hold large corporate office space.

When Bradford is desperately trying to regenerate its city centre it is a bitter blow to lose offices that together employ some 400 people – people who might well spend their lunch hours spending money and helping the economic recovery, especially as work is due to start this year on the Westfield shopping centre.

It is also somewhat disturbing that Bradford Council says it was given only 72 hours’ notice of YBS’s intentions. While, as a private company, YBS can obviously choose to tell who it pleases about its plans, it would be hoped that a move that has such potentially big ramifications for Bradford would have been discussed with the local authority much earlier.

Perhaps Bradford Council needs to ensure that it has a much stronger and more transparent relationship with our big employers so that any news such as this which is in the pipeline can be discussed at a high level much earlier in the proceedings.