Bradford Civic Society is delighted to hear that Leeds City Region LEP have chosen the Bradford Odeon project as their bid for £4 million from the government’s Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund.

The 4,500 capacity venue is due to open in 2020. (Picture: Bradford Live)

Since the fund was announced in August, Bradford Civic Society have been campaigning for the LEP to back Bradford’s bid, and over 2,700 people signed our petition, which was delivered to Leeds City Region Chairman Roger Marsh in September.

The latest potential funding news comes after the announcement that a Bradford Council report recommends that the local authority’s Executive approves a £12 million loan to enable construction work to begin next year. International operator NEC Group have already been announced as the venue’s operator, which will have a 4,500 capacity and is set to open in 2020.

Bradford Civic Society Chairman Si Cunningham said: “I’m delighted to hear yet more great news for the Odeon. The people of Bradford are right behind this project, and it’s encouraging that the civic society’s 2,700 name petition was taken seriously by Leeds City Region. The Odeon will be a game-changer for Bradford City Centre, and now all the final pieces of funding are falling into place, we can start to look forward to seeing the old building come back to life. We now call on the government to reward Bradford Odeon the remaining funding.”

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “The regeneration of Bradford Odeon will bring a much-loved building back into public use, as well as play an important role in Bradford city centre’s on-going economic transformation. The Board and I were really excited by the ambitious proposals put forward and impressed by the strong support shown by the local community.”

A final decision on the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund awards from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is expected in March 2018.