Taxpayers have been left with a £640,000 bill for maintenance, security and emergency repairs at the crumbling former Odeon building – with no start date in sight for its proposed £40 million replacement.

Yorkshire Forward, which owns the increasingly-dilapidated building, has spent about £227,000 on works to improve health and safety at the site and £413,000 on management, inspection and security costs.

And the building’s long-awaited replacement faces further delays amid continued legal wrangling between the Council, which is only acting as the planning authority, Yorkshire Forward and Langtree Artisan, the developer behind the New Victoria Place scheme.

Planning permission has been approved, subject to the successful completion of a section 106 agreement, for a hotel, restaurants or cafes and 36 apartments with 80 underground car parking spaces.

However, a report to Bradford Council’s regeneration and economy overview and scrutiny committee states it was “difficult to be certain” how quickly the former Odeon will be re-developed because discussions were still ongoing over the section 106 agreement which sets out further obligations for the developer.

The Council does not want to risk a similar situation with the Odeon’s re-development to that of the mothballed Westfield shopping centre in Broadway and it is seeking stronger assurances that no demolition will take place until developers promise to see the project through to its completion.

The Council is also asking for proof that money is available to finish the project.