Bradford Odeon.....a possible live music venue?

Details of a new bid to regenerate The Bradford Odeon by a local businessman as revealed in The Telegraph & Argus would be great news for both local musicians and fans.....

The new plan to restore Bradford’s former Odeon building is to be revealed in detail at a launch event.

The scheme aims to show how a world class live music venue, which would hold 3,500 people, could be created within the 1930s building.

It is the result of two years’ work by Bradford businessman Lee Craven to find a modern, viable use for the building, which has lain empty for a decade.

Mr Craven, a director of family textile firm Jessgrove, based in Great Horton, told the T&A he had first become interested in the future of the Odeon after taking on an earlier Bradford cinema restoration project – The Plaza at Cross Lane – which is now home to the Joshua Project.

He said: “When we managed to find the experts who could advise us, I asked whether a viable use could be found for the Odeon building. They came back and said we think it would work well as a live venue of that size.”

One sticking point could be the structural condition of the building, as Mr Craven’s team has not had access to it.

“We won’t know for sure until our engineers have been in, but nothing has come up so far that’s not insurmountable.”

The businessman has put together a team including the country’s leading experts in auditorium renovation and restoration, and in the financing and management of live performance venues.

They hope to use a public-private financing model, similar to that used in the creation of the Leeds Arena and the refurbishment of the Barbican in York, to restore the Odeon.

Full details of the scheme are expected to be unveiled at the meeting, which takes place at the Midland Hotel at 10am on Wednesday.

They hope to use a public-private financing model, similar to that used in the creation of the Leeds Arena and the refurbishment of the Barbican in York, to restore the Odeon.

Full details of the scheme are expected to be unveiled at the meeting, which takes place at the Midland Hotel at 10am on Wednesday.

The opportunity to save the 1930s building comes after the Homes and Communities Agency, which owns it, terminated a long-standing legal agreement in September with developer Langtree, which had wanted to demolish the building and build a £40 million New Victoria Place development of offices, a hotel and apartments.

Bradford Council is considering an offer from the HCA to take the building on for £1 plus £100,000 of maintenance cash.

In order to make a decision, the authority has appointed consultants White Young Green to undertake a structural survey of the building, the results of which are expected back early in the new year.

Thanks to The Telegraph & Argus for this article

Bradford Odeon.....meet The Black-E Project

Having taken an interest in Bradford One and their efforts to make The Bradford Odeon an economically viable venue with an assured future for the community at large, I was reminded of The Black-E Project in Liverpool, Britain's first ever community arts project.  

Sir Peter Moores

The Black-E (formerly The Blackie) began with the commitment to combine a contemporary arts centre with a community centre. When - having taken over the former Great George Street Congregational Church in October 1967 with the support of Peter Moores - the team of artists led by Wendy and Bill Harpe began their cultural adventures with long term aims and with an 'open door' policy.  What might have seemed almost fortuitous at the time of the public launch in May 1968 can now be seen as essential ingredients in determining the character of the U.K.'s first community arts project, and in creating a centre where all the arts (performing and making, experimental and traditional) might engage with all the people who chose to come through the doors (young and old, disadvantaged and privileged).

Chinatown - with thanks to Formidable Photography

The choice of a home and base in one of the finest 19th Century buildings in the city, together with a commitment to both preservation and renovation, provided a re-affirmation of the natural links between the past, the present, and the future. The proximity of the building to Britain's oldest established African-Caribbean community - and to Europe's oldest Chinatown - meant that cultural diversity would be celebrated as a natural phenomenon. 






The siting of the building adjoining a residential neighbourhood and yet close to the city centre meant that both residents of the city and visitors to the city would find it accessible - and that it would be natural for playgroups and community enterprises to take place alongside dance recitals and exhibitions. The fact that the founders were artists shaped an organisation where creating works became as natural as presenting and promoting works. And the balance of the staffing, with women taking a leading role from the earliest years,  has meant that the organisation has evolved a natural commitment to women and the arts.



Their home and base is the former Great George Street Congregational Chapel and originally derived its familiar name the Blackie (now the Black-E) as a shortened version of 'The Black Church' - a description of the Chapel in the 1960's covered with over a hundred years of inner-city smoke and grime. Although stone cleaned in the 1980's the building still retains its name.  The Great George Street Chapel became the focus not only of worship but also of educational and artistic activities and a programme of social welfare. The last service took place in February 1967, and later that year the building was acquired by the Peter Moores Foundation and then launched in May 1968 as the home and base for the UK's first community arts project. Plans were drawn up to redevelop the interior of the building while retaining the (Grade II listed) exterior. Work commenced on this redevelopment in 1975, and has continued in Phases, as funds have become available, up to the present time.




The Black-E hosts a phenomenal variety of Performance Events, Exhibitions, Workshops and a Youth Arts Programme.  As a for instance they are currently encouraging  Music Promoters to work with them to deliver a year-round programme of music and dance performance. They are interested in a broad range of music including folk, international roots musics, reggae, hip-hop, contemporary, acoustic and singer-songwriters, Americana and country, jazz, classical, etc.

The Black-E / Great Georges Community Cultural Project recently completed a £6m capital redevelopment programme.  This has delivered a spectacular in-the-round auditorium with two overlooking balconies, capable of a number of configurations, with capacities up to 550, and suited to a variety of music and dance performance promotions.  The building is now fully licensed, including bar facilities. State-of-the-art staging, sound and lighting equipment are in-house.






As I hope you can see they are a great model for the type of venue that The Bradford Odeon can aspire to become with the help of everyone in the local community and beyond.  here's a for instance of the kind of effort and generosity that have made The Black-E what it is today.  

Following on from Sir Peter's original support (and covering the four decades from 1967 to 2008) :-

• 84 charitable trusts, government agencies and departments, companies, and individuals have provided £3,855,500 in support of the cultural programme. Click here for further information.
• 40 charitable trusts, government agencies and departments, companies, and individuals have provided £5,939,900 in support of the capital redevelopment programme. Click here for further information.
• over 750 companies and 500 individuals have provided support through donated goods and services. Click here for further information.
• over 1,000 volunteers from the UK and around the world have gifted over 383,000 hours to work and play at The Black : E. Click here for further information.

Financial support has ranged from £10 to £2m ; gifts in kind have ranged from a kitchen table to a lorry load of paint ; volunteers have given from 3 hours per week to 3 years of full time service (now that's commitment).