SIR - Last week I had lunch at Chino Thai in Centenary Square with a friend from Denholme, who rarely visits the city centre.

This is possibly due to the bad press which the city has had for its general air of neglect, due to the tardiness of its developmental progress.

However, the restaurant was buzzing. We were greeted and led to a table by polite and attentive staff. The food was plentiful, appetising and excellent value for money.

It was a lovely, sunny day and the square was vibrant with people dining al fresco at the tablets outside Lloyds, or just sitting and watching the world go by.

My friend was amazed and impressed by the transformation since her last visit, and it made me realise we have become so used to seeing the negatives (which I don't deny exist), that sometimes we are blind to improvements which have been made.

With the opening of the new art gallery, and the proposed advent of the vegetarian restaurant, I am sure that, if the long overdue redevelopment of the Odeon (retaining the two domes) could now commence, this would rekindle people's belief that things are, at last, moving forward, and persuade entrepreneurs that Bradford is worth investing in.

Maureen Frail, Haworth Crescent, Bradford