True as far as it goes, but not quite the whole story? Don't forget what did much of the damage was making Leeds a development area, qualifying for regional development grants and the like, in the 1980s. Bradford did not qualify.

The funding of the new St Helen's ground is far from cetaintiny.

Really? Cos they've gone ahead and built the thing. Tut, looks like someone's gonna end up red faced.

It wasn't a lot of hot air, and the chairman has not departed. We are in a recession. Any plans that the chairman had have been shelved due to the economic climate. Who knows what the future may hold but i would love to see Park Avenue and the Bulls link up at some stage. Park Avenue cannot progress much further up the non league pyramid at the Horsfall Stadium. They would be forced to move.

Nowhere near the whole story, I wrote one paragraph, this has been going on for several decades.

On that one point, development areas weren't picked out of a hat. The fact is that, however they did it, the council at Leeds got themselves on that gravy train, and our lot at Bradford didn't. If that was the one thing they failed in then maybe, but sadly you could pick just about any from hundreds and they've consistently made a complete porridge of the lot - usually at vast expense to taxpayers. Mind you, consultancies have done very well out of it.

We are where we are, & I have noted Bradford's continual demise since I moved there in '92. Not that I am entirely to blame. I am interested in what critics would do to reverse the trend, especially given the financial situation we are in. I don't have time at the moment to pen all my thoughts, but am not generally in favour of big gimmicks, which I fear the urban pond is, though I recognise the improvements around the city hall.

I blame the flight by people out of the city to places with Leeds postcodes...

Very true.

You can add in other things, like the centralising of the railways, which made Leeds the hub and turned Bradford into a branchline; the motorway network, which again aims for Leeds, there isn't even a mention of Bradford on the signs until you get to Wakefield. Our branch, the M62, wasn't completed until many years after Leeds had the M1 heading to its heart, and equally importantly well after many national and international companies had already chosen Leeds as their 'Northern head office'.

There are many things we can blame Bfd council for, but they in turn have been buffeted by things beyond their control, like the, previously mentioned, Thatcher government's decision to give that development area status to Leeds. This was hardly a carefully thought through measure in any sense - Leeds certainly wasn't in a worse position than Bradford, was it? The government, stung by accusations that it was letting the North rot, decided to throw money in a few, limited, directions but the scattergun missed Bradford.

I think, Adey, you once pointed out Bradford's (maybe) unique ability to vote in councils from the opposite persuasion to the prevailing government, and it may well be this which is the biggest contributor to the city's position, rather than any particular shortcomings, of the council, both now and previously. That said, they haven't helped over much either, like the supine acceptance of the latest development area AGAIN going to Leeds.

Amazing what you can do with Photoshop...