Bradford College is set to invest up to £60 million on new buildings to move its campus towards the city centre.

The plan will see its Westbrook and Randall Well buildings demolished to make way for a new complex nearer the city centre. The college is also planning to use the redeveloped Odeon building as a gateway to its Westbrook campus.

The projects are part of a massive overhaul of Bradford College's estate planned for the next seven years.

Principal and chief executive Michele Sutton said the work would give the college one of the most expensive further education facilities in the country.

The plan is for the college to remain on two main campuses - Westbrook in Great Horton Road and MacMillan off Trinity Road. However, the college is considering buying new land to expand its Westbrook campus towards the city centre.

The first phase of the project will see the construction of a new sports centre, gym, pitches and new facilities for teaching construction and engineering courses off Trinity Road. An empty halls of residence on the site will be demolished to make way for the scheme. The college is now carrying out a consultation exercise with staff before deciding whether or not to pursue the plans. A bid for funding to the Learning and Skills Council is expected to be made in the new year.

The college's director of corporate services Andy Welsh said he expected building work on the new sports centre to start next year and take around 18 months to complete.

He said the college had ruled out moving onto one campus or carrying out a refurbishment of the existing facilities because it would not allow them to achieve the "step-change in accommodation" the college needed.

Mrs Sutton told the Telegraph & Argus she wanted the college to play an integral role in the "rebirth of Bradford."

Urban regeneration company Bradford Centre Regeneration (BCR) is carrying out a masterplan to change the face of Bradford. BCR has carried out an international competition to find a scheme to redevelop the derelict Odeon building.

Three companies have been short-listed which have all produced mixed-used schemes for the site. Their bids are now being assessed by BCR.

Mrs Sutton said the college had been in talks with BCR and the three bidders and was confident it would be involved in the refurbishment of the Odeon site.

The college wants to use part of the Odeon building as information point and personal development centre. It is also considering opening a hair and beauty salon, training kitchen and ICT suite in the redeveloped building.

She said: "We are about to embark on a new era in Bradford with a major regeneration. It is essential the college em-braces the opportunities to raise the bar.