BRADFORD East MP Imran Hussain has secured a meeting with a Government minister to try to secure funding for the restoration of the Bradford Odeon.

Mr Hussain will be meeting with Matt Hancock, Minister for State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, before the end of this month. At the meeting Mr Hussain is hoping to secure support for the project, which is currently 70 per cent funded.

In September the NEC Group announced it was taking over the derelict city centre building on a 30-year lease, to renovate it to be opened as a live music venue.

He will raise Bradford Live’s bid for Northern Cultural Regeneration Funding at the meeting, and try to persuade the Minister to support the bid.

The NEC Group expects the redevelopment to be completed in 2020, and Mr Hussain said it could attract up to 250,000 additional visitors to Bradford and generate and extra £10 million in the city’s economy every year.

Mr Hussain said: I warmly welcome the Minister’s readiness to meet with me to discuss bridging the Odeon’s remaining funding gap. It is a positive step in moving forward to deliver an exciting new cultural and entertainment venue in Bradford that will attract more visitors and enhance the city’s ongoing regeneration.

“Delivering the funding required to overcome the small funding gap also makes great business sense with a predicted economic benefit to Bradford of £10 million annually, and ringing endorsements from a range of musical artists backing the viability of the venue, including the Kaiser Chiefs who have stated that the Odeon will be a regular on the UK music touring circuit.

“It is about time that Bradford’s full potential is recognised and unlocked, and I am excited at the prospect of restoring the Odeon to its past life again and to the considerable benefits that this will bring for Bradford.”

Three or four schemes from across the North of England will be chosen for NCFR funding by the DDCMS, with the successful bids being announced in March 2018.

Lee Craven, director of Bradford Live, thanked Mr Hussain for arranging the meeting.

He said: “We are very pleased this was raised in Parliament, it’s such an important building for Bradford.

“We have had a great deal of support from Mr Hussain and all the district’s other MPs from all parties.

“We have secured much of the funding ourselves through the deal with the NEC Group but there is still a shortfall and we need help meeting that. It is vitally important we get that support from the public sector.”