Bradford Council offered The Odeon for just £1 (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

That was a lovely place til they shut it down and just messed around with it for a number of years.

The fact that £7m of public money has been spent on this and without it being no further forward, is utterly shameful!

Avro wrote:
The fact that £7m of public money has been spent on this and without it being no further forward, is utterly shameful!

£7 million would have gone a long way towards renovating the building and creating a concert/exhibition/c
onference venue. This would have brought people from outside the district in who would have spent money in shops, restaraunts, bars and hotels. That would have gone further towards regenerating Bradford than the £35 million regeneration scheme they are currently discussing.

I smell a rat!!!!!!!

The council should buy it and then invite Christo to turn it into an artwork (like he did for the Reichstag) giving the council time to deliberate as to what to do with it. Tourist will flock to Bradford to see it and the mirror pool and The Hole.

http://www.shafe.co.
uk/art/Christo-_Proj
ect_for_Wrapped_Reic
hstag_(collage-_1994
)-.asp

Now is your chance to shine Barra Mac Ruairi, get your people to work well and quick please.

I bet if this very nice building was in the centre of leeds it never would of ended up in that state!!

Joedavid wrote:
Now is your chance to shine Barra Mac Ruairi, get your people to work well and quick please.

Barra is intent on launching a thorough and deep thinking analysis of the offer so he can be sure Bradford is not wasting its money. It's a strategy which has worked well over the years isn't it?? Expect an answer in December - 2013.

My vote would be to buy it and turn it in to an 'arts centre'. The concept works well in Huddersfield and York.

There could be a cafe, gallery and space for small start-up businesses as well as a small evening venue for comedy acts, local bands etc. This sort of flexibility would make it appeal to the widest range of people and have it busy throughout the day, evening and night.

The people of Bradford have already won a small victory in getting this far and I believe have the character to take this project the rest of the way.

Good luck!

Would make a great "Rawson Market"
Fruit & Veg. Fish & Meat etc.
only drawback is no parking space.

MontyLeMar wrote:

Joedavid wrote: Now is your chance to shine Barra Mac Ruairi, get your people to work well and quick please.

Barra is intent on launching a thorough and deep thinking analysis of the offer so he can be sure Bradford is not wasting its money. It's a strategy which has worked well over the years isn't it?? Expect an answer in December - 2013.

Well in that case say goodbye to the building with a date like that.
I feel the HCA will want a quicker answer from the Council if not they will put it up for sale.
We all know from the past what this meant with developers wanting to knock it down first.
Yesterday the Meeting asked Barra to give a progress report to their meeting in January.

Let's hope no one at the Council who dealt with the Broadway fiasco has anything to do with this. Clearly it is a liability and the Council should steer clear of it.

That's great news get rid its a waste of money and investment let someone else have the headache.

Why all this fuss about a building thats not even pleasant to look, brick with a couple of domes to 'enhance' it. Hope the council buy it for a pound then they can get on and demolish

klp1979 wrote:
Why all this fuss about a building thats not even pleasant to look, brick with a couple of domes to 'enhance' it. Hope the council buy it for a pound then they can get on and demolish

And be like Westfield another park?

Best building, outside little Germany
(SAVE IT).

The Council should not let this opportunity pass them by. They could make a killing.

Buy it for £1.

Sell it to Meyer Bergman for £10.

That's a 1000% profit that would look good in the books.

Wouldn't it?

plans for the building which could be reviewed by Council experts.
Now we should worry when we get statements like this.

I actually attended the meeting yesterday afternoon, and have to say that I was initially struck by the thorough incompetance of successive councils over the 12 year period that this once fine building has remained empty and fallen into disrepair.

That said, this isnt the time for finger pointing. The harsh reality is that HCA have said that they will sell the Odeon one way or another by the end of the financial year, (March 2013).

That means the council now have 4 months at most to decide whether they should buy this. Inital thoughts are, 'of course they should'.

However what we need to bear in mind is the fact that once bought, it may end up costing millions to get it fit for whatever purpose it will be used for.

As Bradford people, we need to think about whether we are prepared to see potentially huge amounts of ratepayers money ploughed into this scheme. If this is the case, then there is little doubt that other council services would almost certainly be affected, due to the Govt austerity measures that all councils are having to work with.

It was suggested that an independant enquiry should be caried out on the building to determine precisely what the current state of it is, and how much it would cost to renovate. This would be far more preferable than relying on the rabid and often plain wrong facts as spouted by this very rag.

Based on their findings, then and only then, can the council make an informed and hopefully correct decision regarding this purchase.

It is rare that I agree with bean counters such as Barra, but I have to say that his comments yesterday were correct in that there has to be some financial common sense used. Rather than the simple knee jerk mantra of, 'It must be saved at any cost'.

As I said at the start of this post, it is sad that it has taken 12 years to get to this stage, however anyone who is interested in the fate of this fine building needs to get involved now, with ideas and proposals for long term use.

Personally I would love it to be an O2 venue. That Co. have a few spare quid, they might be interested?

Macca51 wrote:
I actually attended the meeting yesterday afternoon, and have to say that I was initially struck by the thorough incompetance of successive councils over the 12 year period that this once fine building has remained empty and fallen into disrepair.

That said, this isnt the time for finger pointing. The harsh reality is that HCA have said that they will sell the Odeon one way or another by the end of the financial year, (March 2013).

That means the council now have 4 months at most to decide whether they should buy this. Inital thoughts are, 'of course they should'.

However what we need to bear in mind is the fact that once bought, it may end up costing millions to get it fit for whatever purpose it will be used for.

As Bradford people, we need to think about whether we are prepared to see potentially huge amounts of ratepayers money ploughed into this scheme. If this is the case, then there is little doubt that other council services would almost certainly be affected, due to the Govt austerity measures that all councils are having to work with.

It was suggested that an independant enquiry should be caried out on the building to determine precisely what the current state of it is, and how much it would cost to renovate. This would be far more preferable than relying on the rabid and often plain wrong facts as spouted by this very rag.

Based on their findings, then and only then, can the council make an informed and hopefully correct decision regarding this purchase.

It is rare that I agree with bean counters such as Barra, but I have to say that his comments yesterday were correct in that there has to be some financial common sense used. Rather than the simple knee jerk mantra of, 'It must be saved at any cost'.

As I said at the start of this post, it is sad that it has taken 12 years to get to this stage, however anyone who is interested in the fate of this fine building needs to get involved now, with ideas and proposals for long term use.

Personally I would love it to be an O2 venue. That Co. have a few spare quid, they might be interested?

It could become a useful source of income though, if the right things are put into it.

i think this would make an amazing nightclub, the atmosphere wud be fantastic and its huge enough, right on the nights scene with all the flashing lights and yh we all know what some of the public wud say about this complaining saying more drunk behaviour and people throwing up everywhere. just wanted to throw in an idea thats all.

Macca51 wrote:
I actually attended the meeting yesterday afternoon, and have to say that I was initially struck by the thorough incompetance of successive councils over the 12 year period that this once fine building has remained empty and fallen into disrepair. That said, this isnt the time for finger pointing. The harsh reality is that HCA have said that they will sell the Odeon one way or another by the end of the financial year, (March 2013). That means the council now have 4 months at most to decide whether they should buy this. Inital thoughts are, 'of course they should'. However what we need to bear in mind is the fact that once bought, it may end up costing millions to get it fit for whatever purpose it will be used for. As Bradford people, we need to think about whether we are prepared to see potentially huge amounts of ratepayers money ploughed into this scheme. If this is the case, then there is little doubt that other council services would almost certainly be affected, due to the Govt austerity measures that all councils are having to work with. It was suggested that an independant enquiry should be caried out on the building to determine precisely what the current state of it is, and how much it would cost to renovate. This would be far more preferable than relying on the rabid and often plain wrong facts as spouted by this very rag. Based on their findings, then and only then, can the council make an informed and hopefully correct decision regarding this purchase. It is rare that I agree with bean counters such as Barra, but I have to say that his comments yesterday were correct in that there has to be some financial common sense used. Rather than the simple knee jerk mantra of, 'It must be saved at any cost'. As I said at the start of this post, it is sad that it has taken 12 years to get to this stage, however anyone who is interested in the fate of this fine building needs to get involved now, with ideas and proposals for long term use. Personally I would love it to be an O2 venue. That Co. have a few spare quid, they might be interested?

Thing was to me Barra did not come across as being able to come up with a report on condition and viability quickly.
He is going to give a report on his progress in January. I would think the Council to make a decision before end of this financial year to accept or reject the HCA offer his completed report needed.
Seemed to me also that if bought the Council would want a Developer to finance and do the work, we all know how Westfield and New Victoria Place went under that sort of scheme. To me for restoration of the New Victoria the Council need to be in the driving seat.
The HVA have proved they will not be messed around just look how quick they got rid of Langtree.

Before the council does anything rash they should recruit a planning and feasibility consultant through an exhaustive and non-transparent tendering process followed by extensive focus-group analysis of stakeholder groups. Secondly, finalised plans should involve a full cost-benefit analysis for best-value compliance plus tertiary evaluative studies conducted to assess local 'eco-impact' and cross-cultural compatibility (if consonant with the city-wide regeneration strategy).

Only once the above course has been assiduously followed can a brick be laid (subject to the relevant planning approval and Health and Safety legislation naturally).

forget the council, other than they pay£1 fit it and gift it to borg. they are only people that have had sensible ideas for the place. i don't know how long we've had to put up with barra mac, but i can't remeber hearing of him doing ANYTHING except pick up his bloated wages.
this is an excellent chance to have a completed scheme by the end of 2013, not just a decision on whether or not to even buy it. either grow a pair bfd council or invite borg to review their plans for you to look at, ASAP.
GET ON WITH IT AND STOP DITHERING.
whats the betting on this rag making an offer for it, they've tried to pull it down from day one.

johnhem wrote:
forget the council, other than they pay£1 fit it and gift it to borg. they are only people that have had sensible ideas for the place. i don't know how long we've had to put up with barra mac, but i can't remeber hearing of him doing ANYTHING except pick up his bloated wages. this is an excellent chance to have a completed scheme by the end of 2013, not just a decision on whether or not to even buy it. either grow a pair bfd council or invite borg to review their plans for you to look at, ASAP. GET ON WITH IT AND STOP DITHERING. whats the betting on this rag making an offer for it, they've tried to pull it down from day one.

Borg made a statement at the meeting along the lines they were not Devlopers but would act as consultants to others.
Bara looked rather shocked by the statement. Borg added they had been speaking with 2 Developers.

barra wa shocked at the thought of actually having to WORK for his wages. borg had a backer right at the start of this farce, if they'd gone with that plan we'd have been using a music venue in the city centre for years by now.

johnhem wrote:
barra wa shocked at the thought of actually having to WORK for his wages. borg had a backer right at the start of this farce, if they'd gone with that plan we'd have been using a music venue in the city centre for years by now.

more here.
www.bradfordodeonres
cuegroup.co.uk/
I have just found it.

Council could offer to buy the back streets of Bradford's many many houses which have private roads behind them for nominal price of £1 then there'd be less rubbish around the place, and far less neighbour stress with people blocking access/police not shifting vehicles. Perhaps it would also reduce uninsured vehicles too as then they couldn't sorn them as being off the road (when they're being driven anyway) and they're been sorned onto somebody else's land without permision/checks being made.

Christ, don't let those incompetent idiots in the council anywhere near the Odeon they'll screw it up again like they did Broadway. BORG has some wealthy members... Dig deep guys this is YOUR chance to show you are genuine about the odeon and not just doing it to raise your business profile. Act now!

mad matt wrote:
I smell a rat!!!!!!!

Get your sinuses checked its not a rat... its a skunk...

thelastmanstanding wrote:
That was a lovely place til they shut it down and just messed around with it for a number of years.

there should use it as a paranormal ghost hunters event and ghost company like haunted happenings and dusk till dawn and get the most haunted to do 48 hours investigation to see what in the building

Patrick Bateman wrote:
Before the council does anything rash they should recruit a planning and feasibility consultant through an exhaustive and non-transparent tendering process followed by extensive focus-group analysis of stakeholder groups. Secondly, finalised plans should involve a full cost-benefit analysis for best-value compliance plus tertiary evaluative studies conducted to assess local 'eco-impact' and cross-cultural compatibility (if consonant with the city-wide regeneration strategy).

Only once the above course has been assiduously followed can a brick be laid (subject to the relevant planning approval and Health and Safety legislation naturally).

I honestly believe that few or no one at all in Bradford council could comprehend what you just said, when the council take on the buildings liability in March, it’ll deteriorate for another twelve years.

only because they will be using the enigma code to decipher what pb said. no forthwith or even bigger words can flummax the council. what DOES flummox them is the bit like "cost-effective, or best-value compliance". mention analysis, or god forbid, tertiary evaluation and they think its a group off the telly.

Outraged English Subject wrote:

Patrick Bateman wrote: Before the council does anything rash they should recruit a planning and feasibility consultant through an exhaustive and non-transparent tendering process followed by extensive focus-group analysis of stakeholder groups. Secondly, finalised plans should involve a full cost-benefit analysis for best-value compliance plus tertiary evaluative studies conducted to assess local 'eco-impact' and cross-cultural compatibility (if consonant with the city-wide regeneration strategy). Only once the above course has been assiduously followed can a brick be laid (subject to the relevant planning approval and Health and Safety legislation naturally).

I honestly believe that few or no one at all in Bradford council could comprehend what you just said, when the council take on the buildings liability in March, it’ll deteriorate for another twelve years.

Thats the whole point of the comment.

Its council speak,for kicking it into the long grass.

flogem wrote:

Outraged English Subject wrote:

Patrick Bateman wrote: Before the council does anything rash they should recruit a planning and feasibility consultant through an exhaustive and non-transparent tendering process followed by extensive focus-group analysis of stakeholder groups. Secondly, finalised plans should involve a full cost-benefit analysis for best-value compliance plus tertiary evaluative studies conducted to assess local 'eco-impact' and cross-cultural compatibility (if consonant with the city-wide regeneration strategy). Only once the above course has been assiduously followed can a brick be laid (subject to the relevant planning approval and Health and Safety legislation naturally).

I honestly believe that few or no one at all in Bradford council could comprehend what you just said, when the council take on the buildings liability in March, it’ll deteriorate for another twelve years.

Thats the whole point of the comment.

Its council speak,for kicking it into the long grass.

Thank you, I’ve had nightmares thinking about it.

Surely it's a no brainer, refurbish it and make it a Concert, Art and conference hall/centre bringing world class artists to perform in Bradford with all the added FOOTFALL and CASH flowing into the CITY CENTRE. I'd call it the Delius, Rothenstein and Wolfe as a tribute to the old Bradford German community who did so much to build the town of Bradford into a major city.

bcfc1903 wrote:
Surely it's a no brainer, refurbish it and make it a Concert, Art and conference hall/centre bringing world class artists to perform in Bradford with all the added FOOTFALL and CASH flowing into the CITY CENTRE. I'd call it the Delius, Rothenstein and Wolfe as a tribute to the old Bradford German community who did so much to build the town of Bradford into a major city.

Hang on.
I recently had to suffer your ignorance in advising me I comment diatribe.

In that thread you point out the rich history of bradford (which is all it is now)and that st georges is the oldest concert hall in the world.

The acoustics are apparently one of the best.

So another?

i truly believe O2 would be the best to take it forward.

Had to take my daughter to see the fabulous Ed Sheeran at Manchester O2 Appolo for his show last friday.

Sell out all three nights.

Sell out at Newcastle City Hall,Doncaster Dome,Hull Town Hall etc etc etc.

Why on earth was Bradford not on the promoters radar.

Probably because St Georges is marketed and owned by our incompo council.

Manchester Appollo is in a salubrius part of Manchester City.

but here were droves from Bradford to Leeds to london polling up ans several long distance dads I met in the local Mc donalds.

Get the act together Bradford and get rid of those clowns Barrac and Reeves.

A pound for prime town centre site with a view of a £30 million puddle seems a good deal to me.

If they can find £30 million for the puddle find £30 to restore this iconic building and fill it with the like of the Ed Sheerans of the modern world.

Delius is dead.

And Beethoven.

Do the Manchester Halle ever even turn up to Bradfords St Georges Hall these days.

Give it to O2.They know what their doing and ask them to partner the interested Bradford groups.

The council are clueless whilst ever those two are at its helm.
i take itn Patrick Bateman is taking the p iss.

Cos thats all this council ever do.

throw money away to acheive nothing.

80 million for a hole and counting.

50 million opportunity cost in loss of all other business,employment,
taxes and footfall as broadway is swept away under a raft of compulsory purchases and demolished to make way for the most expensive hole in the world.

Dont let Bradford Council near it.

their paid officers (rather than councillors)were shuffling bobbing and weaving to make sure this building was demolished or in such a poor state it had to be demolished.

RIP Tallboys Hodgkinson and all the other gravy train corrupties that strove so valiantly to fill their christmas stockings.

You were put to deep scrutiny by many and the HCA saw rthrough to nonsense.

I played a small part and am proud to say so.

Well done BORG JP and all who have valiantly fought.

Corruption ruined this city centre once.
Please never again Mr Green.

Remember the Alhambra was scheduled for demolition.

Then £9 million was spent on it and it still proves to be amongst all the rubbish surrounding it a beacon of hope filled to the rafters most of the year.
Example there.

Now follow it.

And what a wonderfull place the ballroom was by all accounts.

david Hockney where art thou.

Bradford needs you and your money rightnow for this much loved building.

The Borg art design of how it COULD look seemed fabulous to me.