Bradford, without a doubt, needs some kind of retail therapy, and quickly.

There might be those who question the wisdom of Bradford Council employing an outside team of consultants to draw up a plan of action to improve the shopping landscape of the district but if it pays dividends by addressing this pressing need then it will have been money very well spent.

The Bradford district has a population of more than 500,000 and Bradford city centre should be the main focus of all of them – the first destination that springs to mind when shopping has to be done. Basically, it needs to have a good enough retail offer for the majority of local people to want to shop here most of the time.

The city centre should also be the sort of place where people who come to visit attractions such as the National Media Museum or even Bronte country want to linger: a pleasing, welcoming city centre where they can spend time and money.

People will always want to make “special” shopping trips, of course, to Harrogate or Leeds or shopping centres such as Meadowhall or the White Rose. But for their everyday needs there must be a sufficient range of shops on offer in the city centre to keep them coming back and ensure Bradford is their main focus.

The basic problem must be obvious to anyone who has ventured into the centre: there are not enough shops and there are too many empty properties. But, then, no-one will be expecting the consultants to come back and merely tell Bradford Council what the problem is.

It is important, though, to understand exactly what local shoppers want and, once we know that, we can go about finding a better way of providing it.