A lot of Bradford people have a strong sentimental attachment to the building which most recently housed the Odeon cinema. It's somewhere they enjoyed memorable moments during its long life, which began when it was the New Victoria and continued through its Gaumont years.

Listening to the Wurlitzer organ, watching a major movie, screaming at the Beatles, dancing in the ballroom, winning a bingo jackpot...This is a place which holds happy associations for Bradfordians of all generations.

But is sentiment alone sufficient reason for retaining the present external form of the now-empty building? Certainly its domes would be missed. In conjunction with the Alhambra dome, they make for a distinctive skyline.

However, the general quality of the building is poor. Its maintenance has been neglected in recent years and its red-brick demeanour adds little to that part of town.

A new leisure development on that site would offer a real opportunity to open up the West End and draw more people into what is becoming an important social and entertainment quarter of the city centre. It would be nice to see something that echoes the roof line of the Odeon, but that consideration should not be allowed to get in the way of creating a building which has enormous potential to make a real impact and further improve that key corner of the city.

Above all, it is important that any proposed scheme gets underway with the minimum of delay. The last thing Bradford needs is an empty Odeon left to decay or another long-term hole in the ground to complement the one where Rawson Market used to be.