6:00am Wednesday 22nd July 2009
By Jo Winrow
These are the heavily-revised plans for the £55 million New Victoria Place development on the site of Bradford’s derelict Odeon cinema.
The Telegraph & Argus can today show the first images of the new design which has now been backed by English Heritage.
Changes include reducing the size of the glass-fronted development on the corner of Prince’s Way and Thornton Road.
A new planning application will be submitted to Bradford Council on Monday.
Developer Langtree Artisan, which won a design competition in 2006, came under fire from English Heritage for its original plans, which were considered too dominant.
But following the changes, Trevor Mitchell, English Heritage’s planning and development regional director is satisfied that the benefits of the New Victoria Place plans now outweigh the loss of the Odeon’s iconic towers.
He said: “The revised proposal respects the setting of adjacent listed buildings and provides new buildings of an appropriate quality, in a sympathetic landscaped setting, safeguarding the overall character of the city centre conservation area.
“While the loss of the Odeon’s turrets and façade would be regretted, we are satisfied that the benefits of the proposal would outweigh the harm which it would cause. English Heritage would therefore support the revised scheme.”
The scheme still includes all the internal elements from the original designs which were submitted last year – including office space, apartments, a 100-bed hotel, bars, cafes and community leisure facilities. It would involve demolishing the former Odeon building, which has been derelict since 2000.
A public exhibition is being held on Friday from 1.30pm to 5pm and on Saturday between 11am and 4pm in the Camargue Room at the Great Victoria Hotel, in Bridge Street.
A website newvictoriaplace.com containing the new designs will also go live on Friday.
Langtree Artisan and building owners Yorkshire Forward have been working with English Heritage and Bradford Centre Regeneration and say they have taken on board comments made during consultation last year to evolve the scheme. They expect the landmark development to bring more than 1,350 jobs to Bradford.
Simon Peters, of Langtree Artisan, said: “The exhibition is a great opportunity for the people of Bradford to visualise how the New Victoria Place scheme has evolved following the feedback we have received.
“We have created a vibrant and ambitious scheme which will deliver much-needed jobs to the city.”
Jan Anderson, executive director of environment for Yorkshire Forward, said: “New Victoria Place is an appropriate and innovative scheme which has evolved from the initial design proposals.”
And Maud Marshall, the chief executive of BCR, said: “Of primary importance in selecting a final design was the need to develop a financially-viable landmark development for the city – we believe that the new designs for New Victoria Place by Langtree Artisan are exactly this.
“We are delighted that English Heritage is now supporting the planning application.”
Bradford Odeon Rescue Group, which opposes the demolition of the building, has put forward a rival plan – backed by Bradford businessman Nirmal Singh – to retain the building and transform it into a hotel, nightclub and cinema.
Group member and Bradford Councillor John Pennington said he was disappointed that BORG had not been shown the designs prior to the exhibition and described the previous plans as “grotesquely huge”. He said he would be scrutinising the new plans when they are made public on Friday.
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