Odeon Building Faces Bulldozer Threat

The historic Odeon building in Bradford city centre is under threat once more after a planning application to completely demolish the building has been submitted to Bradford Council by Yorkshire Forward and Langtree Artisan. The onus is on local people to object to the plans to try and save one of Bradford's most iconic historical buildings.

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The Odeon, also known originally as the New Victoria and later as the Gaumont, was built in 1929 and was the third largest cinema in Britain at the time. Able to hold 3,300 people it attracted big names like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to play on the North's largest stage in it's heyday.

After functioning as a cinema for decades the Odeon cinema closed in July 2000 and has been left standing derelict ever since. The building was bought by un-elected governent body Yorkshire Forward in 2003 so that Bradford Centre Regeneration (BCR) could develop the site. But BCR's demolition plans faced objection from the people of Bradford which resulted in a huge public 'Hug the Odeon' event in July 2007 with over 1000 people turning out in rain and winds.

Despite the ongoing opposition to the demolition of the building from groups such as Bradford Odeon Rescue Group (BORG) and Bradford Civic Society the developers are still determined to strip Bradford of one more of it's buildings of historic importance. The real irony is that Bradford has been made UNESCO city of film, yet planning submissions call for complete demolition of the cinema and "construction of mixed use development comprising offices, hotel, restaurant/cafes and 36 residential units with 80 basement parking spaces". All this despite the many uninhabited modern residencies in Little Germany and the many opportunities for converting old buildings into offices rather than creating new office blocks. In fact all of these things could be achieved in a conversion of the Odeon building itself. Many fear that the site will be decimated and then lumped with a developer who has run out of money and will leave an abandoned pile of rubble, as has happened at the Westfield/Broadway site elsewhere in the city centre.

Both Yorkshire Forward and Langtree Artisan claim that the demolition and new build could create 750 new jobs in the city. Yet, as we have seen at the Westfield development on Broadway, these jobs are not necessarily for local people. One of the reasons for the halt in progress at the Westfield development was due to construction staff employed by the company being tied up at another project in Derby. The issue of greatest concern here is that we will not only lose a beautiful historic building through its demolition, but also be left with another architectural wound in the city centre and no way back.

Our best hope after demolition would be the replacement of the Odeon building with a new build by Langtree Artisan. But that would be another regrettable mistake for the city. A quick look at their website shows a plethora of Business parks and industrial estates, do we really want to lose our cultural heritage to a poor man's Milton Keynes? The people of Bradford need to fight for the Odeon to stay, because once it's gone, it's gone.

Copies of the applications and plans can be viewed at The Planning Office, 3rd Floor, Jacob's Well, Bradford, BD1 5RW Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm and Friday 9am-4.30pm. You can also view them online, View application number 08/06392/CAC (Application for demolition of the Odeon building) here and 08/06391/FUL (Application for new building) here. Alternatively you can submit a representation against the demolition here (this will take you straight to a page asking for your Bradford address, if you are not a local resident please go here.)

To make a representation against the plans not through thw website, you can either send it in writing to the above address or send an email to planning.consultations@bradford.gov.uk. The deadline for representations is 21st August 2009

Bradford Civic Society's 'Common Sense Regenration' publication can be viewed here. It contains a plan for the regeneration of Bradford city centre based on the desires and needs of the people of the city. Notably only two people in the consultation process wanted the Odeon ot be demolished.

Further history of the Odeon building can be found at http://www.bradfordodeonrescuegroup.co.uk/page2.php