Westfield and Odeon site plans to be scrutinised by Bradford councillors (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

"The Westfield meeting is expected to take place on Thursday, October 11, at 1pm, and the Odeon meeting two weeks later on October 25, also at 1pm."
Are they open to the public and in a large venue?

"learn lessons from the past"

I hope that includes the demolition of Swan Arcade. In 2052, when New Victoria Place is being demolished, will the people of Bradford be saying 'Remember when we had a fantastic Art Deco cinema here? If only the council had listened. It could have been the cornerstone of the citys regeneration'.

"learn lessons from the past"

It didn't take Coventry this long to rise from the ashes after the war. This council has presiding over meeting of utter incompetance for years and now only decide to look into where the mistakes were. The lessons to be learnt is
1. Sign contract with strict completion dates and penalties for failure.
2. No re-negotiations of original plans. You said you can do it then do it.
3. Do not pull anything down until the new build is ready to go up.

No rocket science really is it!!

"Do not pull anything down until the new build is ready to go up."...WindyMiller.
But the owner of the Odeon as no faith in that happening with the Odeon.

" £1 million which had been spent on maintenance of the building"
So the Owner,HCA, is making sure at the end of the day he has something left to sell.

Bradford needs more parking so why not use both sites for this purpose.

windymiller wrote:
"learn lessons from the past"

It didn't take Coventry this long to rise from the ashes after the war. This council has presiding over meeting of utter incompetance for years and now only decide to look into where the mistakes were. The lessons to be learnt is
1. Sign contract with strict completion dates and penalties for failure.
2. No re-negotiations of original plans. You said you can do it then do it.
3. Do not pull anything down until the new build is ready to go up.

No rocket science really is it!!

Windymiller - Your first point, as the Council don't own either they can't sign a contract with strict completion dates and penalties for failure. Nor does the planning process allow for that.

Second point - Any one with planning permission can resubmit new plans at any time. Again the Council don't have the powers because they don't own either sites. So plans can be re-negotiated.

Another excuse for Bradford Council just to go on talking. What this city needs is Action. You only have to look at the way Leeds council conduct themselves. At least the do what they say they are going to do.

So Cllr Mallinson is trying to distance himself for the mess that he made.

Wasn't he the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration for the Tories at the time these projects were being put together under a Tory controlled Council.

It was Cllr Mallinson who pushed for the demolition of Broadway so the Council could put in a bid for the Connecting The City Funds to connect Forster Square Retail park with Broadway.

Perhaps the first person who should be before the panel then is himself, after all wasn't he also responsible for employing Maud Marshall to run Bradford Centre Regen, and the spending of £35m on nothing !!

Yet more talk while Bradford slides deeper into the cesspit!

All we want to know is when are both projects going to happen??

Is not hard to work out where both went wrong, is it Tony Reeves.........

Avro wrote:
Yet more talk while Bradford slides deeper into the cesspit! All we want to know is when are both projects going to happen?? Is not hard to work out where both went wrong, is it Tony Reeves.........

Tony Reeves was not responsible for both these projects were the remit of Maud Marshall, Cllr Mallinson, Kris Hopkins MP and Bradford Centre Regen

modman61 wrote:
Another excuse for Bradford Council just to go on talking. What this city needs is Action. You only have to look at the way Leeds council conduct themselves. At least the do what they say they are going to do.

and quickly. A new shopping complex (within the old town centre) in Leeds, of course, ready to open in spring 2013. As for the Odeon - do we really need a "regeneration and economy scrutiny committee" to report on the history of Broadway. Just ask any senior citizen who lives in Bradford and they will tell you as much history as you need to know for free, and much more.

i very much doubt the council is capable of learning any lessons from past mistakes because no doubt they dont think they have done anything wrong and continue to blame the contractors.

We don't need a new shopping centre, there are plenty of shops as it is. What we do need, however, are Allotments. Grass it over so we can all grow free food!

a reasonable sort of chap wrote:
We don't need a new shopping centre, there are plenty of shops as it is. What we do need, however, are Allotments. Grass it over so we can all grow free food!

So please explain how more allotments is going to generate income / business for this city. What a ridiculous comment. y
You need to get real.

"On the Westfield development he said: “We need to understand if they have got confidence in the current scheme or will there need to be further alterations, and what the potential timescale would be.”"
There have been several alterations in the past, will it end up with two shops, a Shisha lounge and the inevitable Wetherspoons?

Albion. wrote:
"On the Westfield development he said: “We need to understand if they have got confidence in the current scheme or will there need to be further alterations, and what the potential timescale would be.”" There have been several alterations in the past, will it end up with two shops, a Shisha lounge and the inevitable Wetherspoons?

Guess you mean of the 2 shops, one Charity and the other a Pound.

a pawn shop and a betting outlet would appear to suit the majority needs at the moment, with an on-site pub for the many alcoholics.

Invited to a meeting? They should be subpoenaed!!

Learn lessons from the past? What? Do they think a bung or two has been missed? A brown paper envelope gone missing from Councillor ??? desk?

Only lesson needed to be heeded is that Bradford Council has not been fit for purpose since the early 60s and they need to be told this in no uncertain terms and that each and every decision maker and decision will now be held up for total scrutiny by individual bodies, much like ofsted do with failing schools.

And meanwhile, Bradford's 'eminent' councillors will be milking their inflated expense accounts - again!

Reality001 wrote:

Avro wrote:
Yet more talk while Bradford slides deeper into the cesspit! All we want to know is when are both projects going to happen?? Is not hard to work out where both went wrong, is it Tony Reeves.........

Tony Reeves was not responsible for both these projects were the remit of Maud Marshall, Cllr Mallinson, Kris Hopkins MP and Bradford Centre Regen

Responsibility from the outset is water that is way under the bridge., it is who is currently responsible that matters now.
Since taking up his role, exactly what has Reeves done to move forward the Odeon and Westfield debacles, other than allow both to fester without timescale or development.

Reality001 wrote:

Avro wrote:
Yet more talk while Bradford slides deeper into the cesspit! All we want to know is when are both projects going to happen?? Is not hard to work out where both went wrong, is it Tony Reeves.........

Tony Reeves was not responsible for both these projects were the remit of Maud Marshall, Cllr Mallinson, Kris Hopkins MP and Bradford Centre Regen

Responsibility from the outset is water that is way under the bridge., it is who is currently responsible that matters now.
Since taking up his role, exactly what has Reeves done to move forward the Odeon and Westfield debacles, other than allow both to fester without timescale or development.

Does Tony Reeves run the Council or the Council run Tony Reeves?
So hard to tell if anyone running anything.

Does Tony Reeves run the Council or the Council run Tony Reeves?
So hard to tell if anyone running anything.

Does Tony Reeves run the Council or the Council run Tony Reeves?
So hard to tell if anyone running anything.

To the comment about whether the public are allowed in, my understanding is that the public are welcome and indeed that is part of the purpose of the two-half days, to allow the public to attend. That was certainly the initial intention at least. I haven't heard anything to suggest otherwise since.

I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure of the venue but I think it's currently down as one of the committee rooms at City Hall. However, when we initially discussed this plan there was a discussion about an appropriate venue given the likelihood of public interest so whether it will be moved to a bigger venue I'm not sure, however I expect any information will be published in the T&A accordingly.

For the comment about Councillors milking expenses, these meetings are in addition to our standard scheduled meetings and we will not be paid for them - I'll be taking unpaid leave from my day job to attend (which is fine, as that's what the standard expenses are supposed to cover). We set up these meetings as they are the two biggest 'regeneration' projects in the City and we wanted to be able to at least attempt to address some of the many concerns the public have over the issue.

Hopefully we will at least be able to shed some light on the issues though I appreciate that many people - myself included - won't be happy until we see some construction on site at Westfield and a proper resolution one way or the other with the Odeon.

Alex_Ross-Shaw wrote:
To the comment about whether the public are allowed in, my understanding is that the public are welcome and indeed that is part of the purpose of the two-half days, to allow the public to attend. That was certainly the initial intention at least. I haven't heard anything to suggest otherwise since.

I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure of the venue but I think it's currently down as one of the committee rooms at City Hall. However, when we initially discussed this plan there was a discussion about an appropriate venue given the likelihood of public interest so whether it will be moved to a bigger venue I'm not sure, however I expect any information will be published in the T&A accordingly.

For the comment about Councillors milking expenses, these meetings are in addition to our standard scheduled meetings and we will not be paid for them - I'll be taking unpaid leave from my day job to attend (which is fine, as that's what the standard expenses are supposed to cover). We set up these meetings as they are the two biggest 'regeneration' projects in the City and we wanted to be able to at least attempt to address some of the many concerns the public have over the issue.

Hopefully we will at least be able to shed some light on the issues though I appreciate that many people - myself included - won't be happy until we see some construction on site at Westfield and a proper resolution one way or the other with the Odeon.

"I expect any information will be published in the T&A accordingly."
Yes, usually a day or two after the event!

Tony Reeves, £200k down the pan every year.

Alex_Ross-Shaw wrote:
To the comment about whether the public are allowed in, my understanding is that the public are welcome and indeed that is part of the purpose of the two-half days, to allow the public to attend. That was certainly the initial intention at least. I haven't heard anything to suggest otherwise since.

I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure of the venue but I think it's currently down as one of the committee rooms at City Hall. However, when we initially discussed this plan there was a discussion about an appropriate venue given the likelihood of public interest so whether it will be moved to a bigger venue I'm not sure, however I expect any information will be published in the T&A accordingly.

For the comment about Councillors milking expenses, these meetings are in addition to our standard scheduled meetings and we will not be paid for them - I'll be taking unpaid leave from my day job to attend (which is fine, as that's what the standard expenses are supposed to cover). We set up these meetings as they are the two biggest 'regeneration' projects in the City and we wanted to be able to at least attempt to address some of the many concerns the public have over the issue.

Hopefully we will at least be able to shed some light on the issues though I appreciate that many people - myself included - won't be happy until we see some construction on site at Westfield and a proper resolution one way or the other with the Odeon.

Hopefully it may kick start a period of more open dialogue between the developers, & the council with the public regarding the development of these sites, but I won't hold my breath.

windymiller wrote:
"learn lessons from the past"

It didn't take Coventry this long to rise from the ashes after the war. This council has presiding over meeting of utter incompetance for years and now only decide to look into where the mistakes were. The lessons to be learnt is
1. Sign contract with strict completion dates and penalties for failure.
2. No re-negotiations of original plans. You said you can do it then do it.
3. Do not pull anything down until the new build is ready to go up.

No rocket science really is it!!

Coventry is still in the shadows of Brum, equally as much Bradford is Leeds.

Avro wrote:

Reality001 wrote:

Avro wrote:
Yet more talk while Bradford slides deeper into the cesspit! All we want to know is when are both projects going to happen?? Is not hard to work out where both went wrong, is it Tony Reeves.........

Tony Reeves was not responsible for both these projects were the remit of Maud Marshall, Cllr Mallinson, Kris Hopkins MP and Bradford Centre Regen

Responsibility from the outset is water that is way under the bridge., it is who is currently responsible that matters now.
Since taking up his role, exactly what has Reeves done to move forward the Odeon and Westfield debacles, other than allow both to fester without timescale or development.

Tony Reeves is not responsible for pushing these schemes forward. Bradford Council do not own the Odeon or Westfield site, Westfield is responsible for pushing their scheme forward and the Government and Langtree are responsible for the Odeon.

Its not passing the book, its the truth. The only way the Council could intervene is to compulsory purchase both sites, which there is not the money to do that.

Reality001 wrote:

Avro wrote:

Reality001 wrote:

Avro wrote: Yet more talk while Bradford slides deeper into the cesspit! All we want to know is when are both projects going to happen?? Is not hard to work out where both went wrong, is it Tony Reeves.........

Tony Reeves was not responsible for both these projects were the remit of Maud Marshall, Cllr Mallinson, Kris Hopkins MP and Bradford Centre Regen

Responsibility from the outset is water that is way under the bridge., it is who is currently responsible that matters now. Since taking up his role, exactly what has Reeves done to move forward the Odeon and Westfield debacles, other than allow both to fester without timescale or development.

Tony Reeves is not responsible for pushing these schemes forward. Bradford Council do not own the Odeon or Westfield site, Westfield is responsible for pushing their scheme forward and the Government and Langtree are responsible for the Odeon. Its not passing the book, its the truth. The only way the Council could intervene is to compulsory purchase both sites, which there is not the money to do that.

No one locally in charge?
Leeds and Sheffield Councils and many others too get things done.
So you want the Council just to sit back and be like Nero when Rome was burning down.

And how much will that cost?

Reality001 wrote:

Avro wrote:

Reality001 wrote:

Avro wrote:
Yet more talk while Bradford slides deeper into the cesspit! All we want to know is when are both projects going to happen?? Is not hard to work out where both went wrong, is it Tony Reeves.........

Tony Reeves was not responsible for both these projects were the remit of Maud Marshall, Cllr Mallinson, Kris Hopkins MP and Bradford Centre Regen

Responsibility from the outset is water that is way under the bridge., it is who is currently responsible that matters now.
Since taking up his role, exactly what has Reeves done to move forward the Odeon and Westfield debacles, other than allow both to fester without timescale or development.

Tony Reeves is not responsible for pushing these schemes forward. Bradford Council do not own the Odeon or Westfield site, Westfield is responsible for pushing their scheme forward and the Government and Langtree are responsible for the Odeon.

Its not passing the book, its the truth. The only way the Council could intervene is to compulsory purchase both sites, which there is not the money to do that.

Utter garbage.
.
I suggest you look at the Freedom of Information pages on the Odeon in particular. There are a couple of Bradford Council staff that are on the record as working behind the scenes pulling strings for Langtree then getting private work as a result.
.
Private Eye covered this in part.

And what about the scrutinisation OF the Bradford councillors?!

It was clear to everyone Westfield was not working and we all guessed what would happen, and it happened. So why were the councillors, at the time, so blind to this and the views of the people they are supposed to represent?!

Just to confirm to everyone that the meeting will be held in public - all meetings are, however it is not a 'public meeting'.

What this means is that the public can attend, but unless there is a section for the public to ask questions it is not an open floor for comments from the public.

waste of time, the reason som much time has been wasted is due council
INCOMPETENCE in signing contracts with no leeway.