News that Bradford is to get more than £17m in Government money to kickstart growth in the city centre represents a significant step in the city’s ongoing regeneration.

The package of measures will see incentives for businesses to locate to Bradford city centre, improve links within the city, and encourage businesses to provide training and local employment opportunities.

It could create almost 3,000 jobs and, after the devastating disappointment of the failure of the city’s bid to get Enterprise Zone status, this has to be seen as more than just a consolation.

It is an opportunity to kickstart growth in the city centre, coming as it does at a time when Westfield has finally moved its long-awaited Broadway project forward.

The group responsible for bidding for the cash, a consortium of business leaders, councillors and council officers known as the Bradford City Centre Development Group (CCDG), should be congratulated for the efforts they have put in to ensure Bradford gets this vital boost.

Now we need to see the private sector following in their footsteps and show confidence in the city. Westfield, in particular, can finally repay the patience that has been shown by many while waiting for work to finally start on the long-awaited scheme.

And hopefully it will also encourage small independent businesses to look at some of the empty retail units that currently blight the city centre, as the larger chains take on plots within the Broadway development.

There is still a long, long way for Bradford to go to re-establish a thriving retail heart in the city.

But this will surely be seen as a significant step in the right direction and could mark a real change in the city’s fortunes.