THE group behind a failed plan to transform the city's iconic Odeon building has said Bradford Council has "missed an opportunity" by rejecting its bid.

Bradford One hoped to turn the run-down building into into a community-owned live entertainment venue, but the plan was rejected because it did not meet the local authority's minimum requirements to be in the running to restore it.

The decision was announced earlier this week, but Bradford One did not wish to comment.

It has now said the Council has missed an opportunity because not only would the venture be owned by the people of Bradford, but it would also have invested up to £1 million a year into education, culture and enterprise in the city. .

Out of three bids, only one was selected to go through to the final bidding process and that was fromBradford Live which hopes to create a mainly evening entertainment regional music venue with a 4,000 capacity.

The Council will make a final decision on the success of that bid in November.

Bradford One's vision had been for the Odeon to become a community-owned venue offering a seated capacity of 2,500 and 3,100 part standing, with restaurants, café bars and conference facilities in a semi-public space, open to all and providing a much needed boost to both the daytime and evening economy of Bradford city centre.

The group had also secured letters of support from The Concert Promoters Association representing all the major UK concert promoters, the Musicians Union and five of the UK’s leading agencies representing many of the UK’s biggest acts.

A Bradford One spokesman said the group was left perplexed when earlier this week when the Council informed it that it had not been successful because it was deemed to be a high-risk project.

A statement from Bradford One said: "Bradford One is glad that Bradford Council is moving towards a solution for the building but is disappointed that it appears to be missing the opportunity to realise significant additional value for Bradford in the process."

Bradford Council leader, Councillor David Green, responded by saying: "We would like to thank the team behind the Bradford One submission for the time, effort and enthusiasm they have put into presenting their bid.

"Unfortunately, their submission did not achieve the minimum requirements needed to progress to the next stage either under the Council's calculations or the independent assessment carried out by a third party."