Coming soon to this cinema: A happy ending?

BRADFORD Council is set to take control of the disused Odeon cinema building in the city if it can secure millions of pounds from a Government agency.
The gutted interior of Bradford's Odeon CinemaThe gutted interior of Bradford's Odeon Cinema
The gutted interior of Bradford's Odeon Cinema

The deal would be a significant step forward in settling the future of the building which has hung in the balance since the collapse of a previous plan to redevelop the site last year.

Bradford Council is offering to take ownership of both the Odeon building and the former Tyrls police station from the Homes and Communities Agency, their current owners.

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But it wants £4.1m from the Agency to meet the costs of work including removing asbestos at the former police station and repairs to the roof and masonry at the Odeon.

Council leader David Green said: “We will try and find a commercially viable option for the Odeon building and would encourage anyone with ideas to come forward with a business plan.

“We want to accept transfer of the Odeon and the Tyrls from the HCA and after a due diligence process have asked for funding amounting to £4.1m to address essential health and safety works to stabilise the building for a limited period and enable work on the Tyrls to progress.”

The Odeon has been the subject of a vocal campaign to secure its future but while the council has asked for schemes for the building in its current form it has warned that demolition remains an option.

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The council is asking developers to register their interest in the Odeon by August with a view to taking a final decision in July next year.

John Pennington, a Bradford councillor and member of the Bradford Odeon Rescue Group (BORG), said: “I would welcome both the Odeon and the old police station coming into council ownership because that puts us in charge of our own future.

“Borg has had interest from three or four developers who have done plans and put them to the council planning department and they were turned away. Whether a developer’s plans for Bradford fit in with the masterplan for Bradford it’s important in my view they are listened to.

“The Odeon needs to be an attraction to bring people into the city because that’s what we desperately need and a refurbished Odeon would be something nobody else has.”

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The Homes and Communities Agency took over the buildings following the Government’s decision to scrap regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

Naz Parker, head of Leeds city region for the HCA, said: “The council has asked us to consider the £4.1m investment as part of the transfer of both sites, which we are currently doing.”

Senior councillors will consider the proposals next week.