UPBEAT CITY CENTRE MANAGER URGES TRADERS TO USE CAMPAIGN

Bradford’s city centre manager has urged traders to make the most of the Buy it in Bradford campaign to help them compete with the new wave of retail developments.

Bob Parker has thrown his support behind the Telegraph & Argus’s drive to keep shoppers coming into the city as it undergoes massive upheaval.

The campaign has the backing of major players in the city including Bradford Council, strategic partnership Brad-ford Vision and the city’s chamber of trade and commerce.

And now Mr Parker is urging the city’s retailers to use the initiative to their advantage.

He said: “This is their chance to put themselves in as strong as possible a position for when Broadway arrives.

“They have got a couple of years to do this and this campaign gives them the perfect opportunity.

“There is an awful lot going on in the city but there is still a long way for us to go.

“What Bradford Centre Regener-ation are doing with their masterplan for the city is very exciting.

“And when Broadway comes all of the city will be in a stronger position.

“But in the meantime we have got a period of four years where a quarter of the city is going to look like a building site – and this is where the Buy it in Bradford campaign comes in. “It has come along at just the right time.

“The Broadway development is something to really look forward to and there is new development happening at Rawson Market.

“Everything is coming together at the same time but we need to make sure that the existing retailers continue to trade and that the customers keep coming into the city centre.”

Mr Parker has been appointed as acting City Centre manager for Bradford Council and is in the post until the end of March at the earliest.

He took up the job having previously worked for the Council as the town centre manager for Shipley.

The role of the city centre manager is currently under review to decide how it can best work alongside other council services running in the centre.

Mr Parker said he wanted to make walking through the streets of Bradford a more pleasant experience for shoppers.

The Council aims to achieve this by continuing to provide street markets and entertainers throughout the year and by creating a palette of how they want the streets of the city centre to look.

Mr Parker said: “The idea is to create a book stating exactly how we want street furniture to look around the city centre.

“So all our railings will look the same and street furniture will be painted the same colour.

“It is something which is done in Leeds.

“It makes the city centre look smarter and well cared for.”

The city centre management team is responsible for the Council street signs which are scattered across the city to promote services and events taking place in Bradford.

Now these signs are being used to promote our campaign to impress on shoppers the importance of spending their cash in Bradford to ensure that city centre retailers can thrive during the redevelopment.

The Buy it in Bradford campaign has also produced posters which have been distributed around the city bearing the slogan “Did You Buy it in Bradford today?”

Mr Parker has urged shoppers to get behind the campaign to help safeguard the future of the city as a shopping venue.

“One of the city’s problems is that one of Bradford’s worst critics are the people of Bradford,” he said.

“But if we look to the future with everything that is going on we can see the city rising like a phoenix from the ashes.”

e-mail: john.roberts @bradford.newsquest.co.uk

‘THE SHOPPING IS GOOD AS IT IS...AND IT WILL GET EVEN BETTER’
Antonio Barbiero, owner of Italian cafe Pizza Pieces, in Bank Street, said Bradford was undergoing huge changes but that there were still plenty of shops and restaurants to entice people into the city centre. Antonio, pictured, said: “It is good that Bradford has woken up and is promoting itself in this way. “It is time Bradford woke up and that as a shopping centre we are not lagging behind any more. “The improvements will be very good for this city but people have to remember there is still a lot of good shopping here already.”	An inflatable paddling pool shaped like a Mini car is flying off the shelves at the Early Learning Centre. Students with a sense of fun are buying them as well as parents of little ones who they were designed for. But store manager Rachel Strong, pictured on the right with colleague Katie Stead, believes that some people are being put off coming into town by roadworks along Market Street.