THE National Audit Office is aware of matters relating to Bradford Live - but "currently has no plans" to examine them, the Telegraph & Argus has learned.

In the summer, a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the T&A revealed that the overall cost of the Bradford Live scheme had climbed to £50.5 million.

Of this, £43.75m came from Bradford Council - made up of grants and loan cash - and the remainder came from West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

In 2019, the T&A reported that the overall cost of the Bradford Live scheme then was £22.7m. The figure was reported to have been £15.6m in 2016.

In his T&A column last month, Robbie Moore, Tory MP for Keighley and Ilkley, said Bradford Live was "becoming a multi-million-pound symbol of Bradford Council mismanagement" and called for external auditors to "step in urgently" and scrutinise the project.

Bradford Live "remains lifeless and the entire scheme is now mired in controversy", the MP added.

The National Audit Office is the independent public spending watchdog.

A spokesperson for the National Audit Office told the T&A: "The National Audit Office currently has no plans to examine matters relating to Bradford Live, but keeps its work programme under regular review."

The T&A also asked Bradford Council's external auditors, Forvis Mazars, if it had any plans to examine matters relating to Bradford Live - but no comment was provided.

In July, Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council's portfolio holder for regeneration, planning and transport, and a director of Bradford Live, told the T&A a number of reasons - including Brexit, Covid and the Ukraine war - explained why the cost of the project had significantly soared.

On September 19, it emerged intended operator the NEC Group had exited the Bradford Live scheme.

A joint statement from Bradford Council and the NEC Group said: "Following a strategic review of its business, the NEC Group will focus on its existing operations in the Birmingham area."

Since then, there have been no significant updates on the process to find a new operator for Bradford Live - amid ongoing concerns about a lack of transparency over the future of the project.

Meanwhile, it is still not known exactly when the venue will open.

It had previously been expected to launch around this time of the year, with those behind the scheme claiming it would be a "world-class entertainment centre".