THIS is how an iconic former Bradford nightclub which stood derelict and dilapidated for a number of years now looks after a major £500,000 revamp.

110 Manningham Lane, which will open next month as 'The Majestic' has gone by many names in its rich history, including the Mecca, Maestro’s, Pennington’s Live and, most recently, the Town & Country Club.

In its heyday music superstars including Chuck Berry and the Human League played at the venue and it also featured in classic Bradford films Billy Liar and Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Bradford councillor John Pennington owned the venue for a time, buying it in 1999.

He told the Telegraph & Argus last year: “A lot of people in Bradford will remember this place and have some very good memories of there.”

He reflected on some of the acts that had played at the club when he ran it, recalling the time he took Chuck Berry to the Sweet Centre on Lumb Lane, which led to all the customers there applauding when they saw the rock legend.

But in recent years, the site, on one of the main routes in and out of the city centre, had been an eyesore after closing and falling into dereliction.

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It now looks to have a new lease of life, with fencing removed to reveal a smart new look for ‘The Majestic’.

Owner Mohammad Sohail said half-a-million pounds had been spent on the refurbishment.

“We’ve had to just strip it down,” he said. “We’ve spent a lot of time doing it right.

“It’s going to be a nice, big venue for everyone in time to come. Everything went according to plan and we are holding to the timescales we were hoping to do.”

The venue will employ 10 full-time staff and up to 50 part-time staff when events are held.

Last year, plans to refurbish and reopen the building, which has almost 2,000 square metres of floor spaces, were submitted to Bradford Council.

As reported in the Telegraph & Argus when the proposal first emerged, a planning application for the building said: “The aim is to invest in the building to transform the once iconic nightclub, which contains some magnificent internal features, in to a beautiful facility and rid Manningham Lane of the eyesore which stands there now, thus producing a quality refurbishment to uplift this part of Bradford, with an appropriate use for the building which can only benefit the neighbourhood.

“This building was once a large part of Bradford’s night scene and has now been derelict for more than 10 years."

The plans were given the go ahead by Bradford Council last year.

Mark Shaw, who was a Conservative councillor for Bingley at the time, said: “Anything they do with it will be an improvement for the area.”

While Councillor Brendan Stubbs (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) said: “This is a gateway to the city, and this building has looked horrible for ages. This will create jobs and bring a bit more life into that part of the city.”

After the meeting, S&A Developments said a lot had been invested in the site and they wanted to do a “solid revamp” on the inside.

The developer said: “It is an iconic building, everyone knows Maestro’s, so we want to bring the building back to use, help with the regeneration of the city, create more jobs and get more people coming into Bradford.”