In June I stumbled across the Piloti column in Private Eye, which keeps a watchful eye on buildings of interest under threat of demolition; regularly I shake my head in disbelief at the constant and wanton destruction of much of this nation’s heritage in the name, allegedly, of progress. In most cases if you substituted progress for an unholy alliance of private profit, dodgy dealings and public pawn broking, you would be much nearer the mark.
The subject of the piece that alerted me more than usual was the Bradford Odeon and Piloti’s outrage at the treatment of the building shamed me, as a Bradfordian, into attempting to find out a lot more than I clearly already knew. I confess to having been ambivalent – and therefore complicit by my silence – to the fate planned for this magnificent building. Indeed, I had become wholly apathetic about the whole sorry mess that is the city centre preferring, like many, to simply avoid it.
Digging a lot deeper though and it was hard not to get drawn into the history and slow fall from grace of this monument to former glories. So much so that I wrote “The Scandal of the Bradford Odeon” (June 7th and now we could be looking at another twist in the story about a building that, hopefully, simply refuses to die.
Cash strapped councils up and down the country are clearly easy prey at the moment for developers with deep pockets from recent years of relative inactivity. For now though, it appears that the iconic Bradford Odeon has had a stay of execution on Death Row; but for how long? A group called Bradford One is attempting to put together an eleventh hour bid to ensure the Odeon escapes the wrecking balls, seemingly primed by a disinterested local Council, buffed and polished by a complicit local paper but, thankfully, halted with the collapse of its previous privately owned “guardian” at the last minute.
Its interim custodian, the Government body, Home and Communities Association, seems desperate to offload the 12 year problem of what to do with the site and have offered it to the Council for a nominal £1. Those of us that live in Bradford will – rightly – have little confidence in the ability of the Council to push things forward here.
Across the border, our cocky and confident neighbour, Leeds, is about to complete its new 13,500 seat arena to rival the likes of Manchester and Sheffield and draw the big acts to West Yorkshire pushing Bradford further into the shadows. Over the last two decades, Leeds has exploded almost as quickly as Bradford has imploded, as a succession of starry eyed schemes, given ridiculous credence by repetitive headlines in the local paper, clearly based on fantasy, have all crashed.
So why is it so important to rescue this once magnificent building and, if the Odeon is to be rescued, what function can it serve in years to come?
Firstly, whilst recognising that we are in times of austerity, the case for rescue cannot surely be solely about a pure profit motive. Bradford is a city that is in desperate need of some form of revival and, to date, the Council has failed spectacularly. If a group of enlightened individuals can galvanise a movement to bring investment and a positive future for the building, then the Council should support wherever possible. Talk of an economically viable future as a precursor for funding for the Odeon is bizarre; across the way some £30m has been invested in a pond and justified as a tourist attraction.
What better attraction than the restoration of a multi-functional Odeon building? Of course, nobody can justify pouring millions into any scheme that simply houses cake and craft stalls but there are models to follow very close to home. Salts Mill, a few miles down the road, rose from the ashes to become a World Heritage Site with an innovative mix of private enterprise, public sector and residential. The Odeon needs that stroke of luck as well; although empty office space is abundant in the city centre what finer address than a revamped Odeon for a major Bradford business?
Many people I talk to aspire quite simply to escape Bradford as they have largely given up on the place; that is no secret but let’s get real. Bradford is home for some 600,000 plus people and there has not been a mass migration like that since the Second World War; most of us are here to stay and so we have to find a way of turning the place around again, if not to former glories but one where we have civic pride and desirable places to be entertained and shop – in safety.
The restoration of the Odeon is only part of that process and, without any movement on the much maligned Westfield site, there will still be precious few reasons to visit Bradford, pond or no pond. The Council, if it had any ounce of vision, should surely see the connection between Westfield across its lauded pond to a revamped Odeon, adjacent to the Alhambra Theatre.
Bradford is at a critical point now, down on its knees, desperate for some glimmer of hope and life, at least so we can raise our heads and look our cocky neighbours square in the eye. It will not be easy and it certainly will not be cheap but there are few buildings like the Odeon nationally and Bradford has few things that are noteworthy or unique. Destroying them is not an option and the Odeon could be a shining light in a new future for the city. Be brave, be bold and show the vision that our forefathers did so spectacularly.
Paul Thompson says
Bloody well said mate! So when are you going to go into local politics then? The Green Party would have orgasms with a speech made like that at one of their party meetings!
nigel wood says
i’m from brghouse.Huddersfield and halifax orientated,but hey i want to save the odeon and all buildings representing our history.Be not afraid–george G has too much RESPECT for this icon of bradford for its demise.
Steve says
Please! I believe the Council more than the opportunistic, self-publicising Mr G. God help us if we have to rely on him.