OPINION: It's our job to think positive for Sheffield

That’s become a regular theme in The Star on Thursdays - and not just because we’ve got 270 local vacancies packed into our pages today, starting on page 47.

Today we can reveal that there are 50 new jobs on the way to Sheffield city centre, thanks to a new development on Ecclesall Road.

Exciting plans are afoot to open an upmarket shopping complex next to Waitrose including an outdoor clothing shop, gym, deli, café and restaurant, replacing the old car dealership which used to be on the site - see page 6 for all the details.

It’s fantastic to see a derelict development being brought back into use.

It’s tempting to moan about the blight of empty buildings across the city - which is why it’s even more important to trumpet a scheme when it will inject new life into an area and make use of derelict properties.

It’s also great news for the city centre.

Yes, the city centre has had a lot of detractors, and no-one can deny that it has struggled to compete with neighbouring city centre offerings, or indeed our own Meadowhall.

That’s why news that brand new shops, bringing with them brand new jobs, must be met with as much positivity as possible.

The city centre is now home to a diverse array of retailing including a swathe of independent shops that you won’t find anywhere else.

If Sheffield wants to be able to compete with cities like Leeds and Manchester, it needs areas the city centre to continue to improve.

It certainly shows no sign of slowing down - and that is reason to be upbeat about the city.

In the next decade, the centre is set to be transformed by the £480million Sheffield Retail Quarter.

But we all need to act now to support the centre. When these shops open, we should get out and use them.

Sometimes it can feel as though Sheffielders are a bit down about the city’s prospects, but a positive attitude can go a long way to driving change.

Our rival cities have adopted such outlooks, and it has helped them pull together and move forward.

Sheffield needs to do the same, and we should all look to ways we can help Sheffield grow and improve in whatever ways we can.

It’s up to our councillors and MPs, too, to think big, and push positively with the city’s best interests at heart.

With the SRQ and HS2 on the horizon, the only way is up.