Odeon’s future to be made clearer

7:00am Saturday 26th January 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Jo Winrow, City Hall Reporter

The Odeon building The Odeon building

The results of Bradford Council’s structural survey on the former Odeon should be available next month, allowing the authority to make a final decision over whether it takes the 1930s building on by the end of March.

If the Council does accept the offer from current owner, the Homes and Communities Agency, then a possible timetable has been laid out, which would see a final decision on any viable proposal being made by this time next year.

The milestones have been laid out in an updated report on the future of the Odeon, which is to be discussed by members of the authority’s regeneration and economy committee next Thursday.

In the report, the strategic director of regeneration and culture Barra Mac Ruairi states: “Assuming that the transfer of the former Odeon building to Council ownership is agreed, a process has been drafted that would initially give all groups the chance of expressing an interest in the building.

“This would then lead through to a long and shortlisting process to agreement on a commercially-viable development. The aim is to ensure that the initial stage of the process is not too onerous or costly to preclude any organisation from submitting a proposal but that, through the long and shortlisting process, proposals will be critically analysed to ensure that the agreed project is viable and deliverable.”

Should the building be transferred into Council ownership then the timetable includes: launching of the expression of interest bids in April, with submissions due the following month; a longlist agreed by June, with the submission of longlisted proposals by August; a shortlist to be agreed by September, with the final submission of shortlisted proposals in November; and a final decision on a viable proposal by January 2014, with the next steps agreed.

The meeting takes place on Thursday, January 31, from 5.30pm at Dalton Mills, Keighley.

Comments(16)

Joedavid says...
7:20am Sat 26 Jan 13

Good that the progress is on going.
Seems a long timetable but correct decisions need to be made.
The worry is the recent Council plans revealed in the T&A showed the Council plan site to be Grade A Offices and not a restored New Victoria/Odeon, so have Council already made their minds up?
Strange location, Keighley, to have this next meeting when such an important meeting for the centre of Bradford and Bradford people.

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Save2020 says...
8:06am Sat 26 Jan 13

Yawn

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seen it all before says...
8:14am Sat 26 Jan 13

pull it down, asap

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MontyLeMar says...
8:52am Sat 26 Jan 13

The council is strapped for cash so it would be easy to just say pull it down. But Bradford would have yet another great hole in the ground with which to impress visitors. Even if the council haven't a clue as to what to do with the building in the long term, it wouldn't cost much to tidy up the facade and put a lick of paint on the towers. That building looks good if given a chance.

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birday says...
8:56am Sat 26 Jan 13

Close Bradford Council and disband the city to other neighbouring councils.
.
Why not?
.
We disband failing schools and there are so very very many of them in Bradford.
.
The city can't survive the future - it hasn't got the kinds of people it needs to make thinks happen and that isn't going to change any time soon.
.
Anyone with any sense of intelligence who can get away from the child catchers and live independently outside the manfia clans leaves as soon as they can.
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Our most intelligent young people who have trained as teachers seek teaching posts in other towns and cities because our schools are such terrible places to work it's not possible to have a healthy quality of life.
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We all know why the structural survey has been requested and what the outcome of this will be. It's time to stop the game.
.
Disband Bradford!

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Not so simple says...
9:45am Sat 26 Jan 13

Just knock it down. The building has been allowed to rot away by various negligent actions; leaving it empty to be reclaimed by the jungle.

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Avro says...
9:59am Sat 26 Jan 13

It was reported previously by the HCA that their repairs only gave it another two years, yet the Council talk is of a "viable proposal being made by this time next year."
So even a proposal is 12 months away, which will surely put the building at serious risk of being beyond regeneration by that time?

Surely the Council should already be armed with a proposal BEFORE any further money is thrown at this building?

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Joedavid says...
10:05am Sat 26 Jan 13

Avro wrote:
It was reported previously by the HCA that their repairs only gave it another two years, yet the Council talk is of a "viable proposal being made by this time next year."
So even a proposal is 12 months away, which will surely put the building at serious risk of being beyond regeneration by that time?

Surely the Council should already be armed with a proposal BEFORE any further money is thrown at this building?
You not heard of Bradford Live was reported in T&A.
http://www.thebusine
ssdesk.com/yorkshire
/news/408071-bradfor
d-live-plan-revealed
-for-odeon.html#

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birday says...
10:34am Sat 26 Jan 13

Not so simple wrote:
Just knock it down. The building has been allowed to rot away by various negligent actions; leaving it empty to be reclaimed by the jungle.
Agreed!
.
'Jungle' is a good word to describe the kind of place Bradford has become and it's getting wilder by the day.
.
Where did all the dogs come from (you can have any kind you want) and where have all the services for women gone. Bradfords a mans world ... a manfia mans world.

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birday says...
10:34am Sat 26 Jan 13

Not so simple wrote:
Just knock it down. The building has been allowed to rot away by various negligent actions; leaving it empty to be reclaimed by the jungle.
Agreed!
.
'Jungle' is a good word to describe the kind of place Bradford has become and it's getting wilder by the day.
.
Where did all the dogs come from (you can have any kind you want) and where have all the services for women gone. Bradfords a mans world ... a manfia mans world.

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RollandSmoke says...
11:30am Sat 26 Jan 13

The foodbank is looking for larger premises due to an upturn in demand. I would suggest that the council let them use the Odeon but by the time this building is brought back into a useable state it would be too small to cope with the number of Bradfordians forced to turn to them for help.

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Joedavid says...
11:33am Sat 26 Jan 13

RollandSmoke wrote:
The foodbank is looking for larger premises due to an upturn in demand. I would suggest that the council let them use the Odeon but by the time this building is brought back into a useable state it would be too small to cope with the number of Bradfordians forced to turn to them for help.
See the article on John Street Market and Kirkgate Market, going to be lots of space there.

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birday says...
11:35am Sat 26 Jan 13

RollandSmoke wrote:
The foodbank is looking for larger premises due to an upturn in demand. I would suggest that the council let them use the Odeon but by the time this building is brought back into a useable state it would be too small to cope with the number of Bradfordians forced to turn to them for help.
LOL!

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birday says...
11:37am Sat 26 Jan 13

Joedavid wrote:
RollandSmoke wrote:
The foodbank is looking for larger premises due to an upturn in demand. I would suggest that the council let them use the Odeon but by the time this building is brought back into a useable state it would be too small to cope with the number of Bradfordians forced to turn to them for help.
See the article on John Street Market and Kirkgate Market, going to be lots of space there.
LOL! ... and if Bradford Council disbanded the town hall and all the council buildings!!

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Yorkshire Lass says...
1:01pm Sat 26 Jan 13

How boring. Its taken already over 10 years to get to here (exactly nowhere). If the Council do take over the building I reckon that could take another 10 years or more, for further decisions to be made. In view of the pending new housing situation near the city centre, maybe pull the Odeon down and make a massive car park. That would be another problem solved.

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modman61 says...
10:39am Sun 27 Jan 13

As per usual clear as mud!

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