The group Positive Bradford has sent a message to its members and supporters regarding the urgent action needed to save the historic Odeon building in Bradford.

The message was communicated through Facebook, and so has been replicated below. Details of how you can take action immediately are included.

 

Bowing to the inevitable, Bradford Council confirmed this morning that the hoardings around the Westfield[1] hole would be taken down soon, and the area within partly landscaped. Alas the wide-open vistas we dreamed of will still be blocked by the maroon hoarding being repositioned around the massive hole at the centre of the project, with little perspex windows through which public art may be glimpsed. This will, inevitably, come to be known as Bradford's Arts Hole.

 

 

Today at 12noon on Saturday 31st October nearly 200 people gathered in Bradford city centre to oppose the demolition of the abandoned Odeon Cinema. The rally saw speeches from local campaigners outside the city's town hall, then outside the Odeon itself with a human chain around the building and finally culminated at the Westfield development site.

Throughout the event the public were encouraged to make their views clear by writing on the Odeon's boarded up and blacked out doorways and windows, while at the Westfield a local arts group had put up a pre-printed board called 'The Democracy Wall, have your say...' with pens for people to make their mark.

Two people have scaled the old Odeon building in Bradford in a bid to halt the demolition of the historic building and engage the community ahead of a protest this Saturday.

This morning at 5am two local people climbed inside the Odeon in a campaign to save the building. A banner reading 'Save the Odeon' was unfurled at 7.30am to engage the local community with the issue of undemocratic descision making within Bradford Council.

More info on the protest planned for Saturday can be found here.

Link to video of banner being unfurled

 

On 23rd September Bradford Council Planning Committee made the descision to accept the proposal for demoltion of the iconic Odeon building in Bradford. Local people are outraged at the descision made through a simple majority of 4 to 3 councillors.

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.