The site of the famous Odeon Cinema in the heart of Bradford is to be auctioned off because the owners want to wash their hands of it.

The building next to the Alhambra Theatre looks shabby and neglected after standing empty for almost two years on one of the prime sites in the city.

It was put on the market when Odeon opened a new 18-screen multiplex in Thornbury.

It was snapped up almost immediately by a London development company which obtain-ed planning permission for its demolition and replacement with an £8.5 million contemporary building.

The complex, including four bars, a casino and an 86-bedroom hotel, would have been named the Whitakers Quarter after a brewery built on the Princess Way site in 1758.

The Odeon, which opened 73 years ago as the New Victoria, was described as the "wonder of the north" at the time.

It will be up for auction with a guide price of £1.5 million by international auctioneers Colliers CRE.

The event will be held at the five-star Radison SAS Hotel, in Central London, on May 14.

Alex Munro, of Leeds based Knignt Frank, agents for the owners, said: "They don't have the appetite to try a wide-scale development. It isn't deliverable in the current climate.

"There are a number of options but they all involved going back to a fresh planning application.

"But this is an excellent site and if someone comes along and puts in an offer it will be worthwhile."

Former Lord Mayor Council-lor Stanley King said the appearance of the old building was deteriorating fast. "All we can hope is that the highest bidder will have a forward-looking plan for Bradford," he added.