Video exclusive: Inside Bradford’s Odeon as workmen finally move in

Workers have removed at least 200 tonnes of material from inside the former Odeon building in Bradford city centre during a £1.3m repairs programme.

The landmark building’s famous copper-green domes have been reinforced with steel and stripped of their covering ahead of plans to put new copper in place.

The Yorkshire Post was given an exclusive tour by developer Lee Craven, who is behind plans to turn the building into a 4,000 capacity multi-use venue for live music, sport, comedy and theatre.

He was joined on the tour by colleague Andy Toohey, the structural engineer with the Bradford Live development team.

Mr Toohey is overseeing tests on the timber, steel and concrete which will determine the strength of individual areas of the vast structure.

He is impressed by what he has seen so far, as 1960s alterations are slowly removed to reveal the more impressive 1930s woodwork, Art Deco coving, stained glass windows and original light fittings.

“It’s more and more exciting every time I come in here, “ he said during yesterday’s walk around the building’s many rooms and corridors.

The next big step will be the serious and difficult demolition work needed to open up the main auditorium space - work which has yet to be priced up and funded.

“When people can see the auditorium space, they are really going to be blown away,” says Mr Toohey.

From an engineering point of view, Mr Toohey says the roof is the most interesting as it is made up of huge 40 metre long trusses which span the auditorium.

“It was a big, brave piece of engineering for the time.”

As he talks, the steady drip of water can be heard nearby. It has been coming in for years, with the result that some steelwork is corroded and there is a problem with rotten wood and damaged plasterwork.

However, it is all fixable - if the funds can be found, says Lee Craven.

“Most of the damage is cosmetic, not structural. We have had a plaster specialist in who said it is repairable - it’s down to money.”

Finding the money will take time, says Mr Craven, with discussions taking place with various public and private sector bodies.

The total cost of the project has been estimated to be over £18m but the scheme might be done in phases to reduce risk.

In the last year around 200 tonnes of 1960s fixtures and fittings have been removed, but there is still more unwanted steel and concrete that needs to come out.

The repair work has been overseen by Andy Grant, of Bradford Council, who said: “By the end of the week, we hope all the rubble will be out. I have been involved for over a year now; in those 14 months there is a big difference and we are a lot more optimistic - and the damp smell has gone.”

Mike Bottomley, of campaign group Bradford Odeon Rescue Group, said a huge amount of work still lay ahead.

“There is no doubt it is a huge project. You have got to remember there is a 1960s building inside the 1930s one.”

Today work was continuing on the domes and should be completed by the end of next month, although scaffolding will remain until the terracotta stones are repointed and cleaned.

By the end of the year, Mr Craven hopes to have the building watertight for the first time in many years.

“It’s always a bit depressing when you see water coming in. Hopefully, before the end of the year, it will be watertight.”

He said Bradford Council was fully behind the project.

“The council really wants this to happen. I have always said that for it to happen it has to be a joint project.”