Revamp for the complex that defied sceptics

The centre, located in a former Victorian mill in Manningham, was founded in 1996 by community organisation Action for Business (ABL) and Bradford Council.

The two organisations renovated the building into a £4m complex, which included nearly 100 offices, workshops, stores, craft units, conference and training facilities for let and hire. It brought jobs and investment to an area with a troubled reputation.

Now, 15 years later, it has undergone its biggest transformation since it was built with a £500,000 investment to update its conference and events facilities.

Jenny Pupius, chief executive of ABL, said: “Our mission is to make Manningham a better place to live and work with profits ploughed back into the community

“In the past, we accessed grant funding or contracts from statutory sector organisations, such as local authorities, but all that is drying up. In an attempt to make ourselves more sustainable, we are looking to enhance our income streams and profitability.”

She added: “We looked at a number of alternatives, including building another facility, but in terms of the return on investment in a set time, updating the events facilities was the best option. It gives us the opportunity to have more flexibility and means we are able to attract events that we wouldn’t have been able to before.”

The conference hall’s suspended ceiling has been removed to reveal the building’s apex roof with windows now flooding the room with natural light. Electronically operated roller-blinds shut out the daylight when darker conditions are required for presentations.

Improved audio-visual equipment has been installed and, for evening events, there is feature lighting. The new-look main hall will seat up to 200 people, but the space can be split for smaller events.

The centre’s on-site café has also been redesigned and refurbished.

The project, which will be officially opened next week, was funded with a grant and a loan from Community Builders, a scheme which was set up by the last government to help community organisations to become more sustainable and continue their work.

Ms Pupius said: “Our newly-refurbished conference centre must be one of the best facilities in Bradford. It provides local businesses and the surrounding community with a first-rate conference venue.”

Action for Business was a legacy of Margaret Thatcher’s Inner Cities Task Forces, which were set up in response to unrest in many British cities, and aimed to create jobs and improve education in deprived areas.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post in 2007, ABL founder Gurdev Dahele said: “Manningham was like a ‘no go’ area for anyone who didn’t live around here. People were very sceptical about this initiative; they said it would not work because of the history of the area, but we proved them wrong.”

In 2003, ABL broke free from council control, buying the building with the help of a £300,000 government grant and £275,00 loan from Barclays.

Ms Pupius, who replaced Mr Dahele in 2007, said: “Enterprise was seen as a unifying factor between the different communities. All the mills in Manningham had closed down, there were no jobs and the thinking was that if you could bring one of the mills to life it would bring wealth and jobs to the area. But it had to be a holistic solution.”

Now, although ABL faces similar challenges to other businesses in the current climate, Ms Pupius said occupancy is “holding up very well”. She added: “I think it’s because of our all-inclusive offer. We still get a lot of enquiries for small business space. We do notice that smaller businesses are very volatile and some don’t last very long, so there is quite a churn. But we try to help people as much as we can and we have our own enterprise support unit.”