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Responding to the Downturn and Planning the Future Economy

Yorkshire Forward has put nothing into Saltaire, which is a world heritage site and should be a jewel in the crown of tourism. Time is pressing, so I shall come to my final point, which is about regenerating our towns. Shipley has had economic problems and desperately needs regenerating. Instead of a regional development agency that tries to pour money into grand projects to put in the glossy magazine that my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby showed us, I suggest that we should have a simpler approach to regeneration, such as finding out what would persuade a company such as Marks and Spencer to open in Shipley. If that required providing five years’ free rates or five years’ free rent, no further regeneration would be needed in places such as Shipley, because other shops would come into town centres to encourage that regeneration. I urge the Minister to be more imaginative in regenerating our towns, as an alternative to the blunt instruments that Yorkshire Forward sometimes comes up with.