gumption blog

In this period of austerity measures and spending reviews, there's inevitably going to be further delays on developments such as the Odeon / New Victoria.

In a perfect world, we'd all love to see a ballroom, a 2000 seat auditorium for theatre, music and film. We'd all love to bring the romance and charm back into this centrally located building. But there are things that concern me about this:
How will it compliment and not compete with the Alhambra, St Georges Hall and the various other venues currently displaying fine creative wares. How will it compete with the new 12,000 seat arena about to be constructed in Leeds?
So my main concern isn't where the money would come from to build it - if Bradford people want it, add a precept to their council tax bills and see how much they want it. My main concern is the mid to long term sustainability of the venture. Where is the business plan with real numbers in it that stack up into a viable proposition? The bottom line for this is that the ticket prices would need to be very high, negating many local people and that in the end, the Bradford council tax payer would be paying for it forever. I'm not convinced that this is clear to people.

Here's an alternative that you might want to consider. I haven't written a business plan for it, nor will be. I've a business to run.

After reading various web content about the Odeon, I asked people what was it that was so special to them. Why were they so emotionally attached? Why were they so against the New Victoria project, for example? The over-riding response was to keep the towers and domes that form part of our contemporary city centre landscape - "they can flattenen the rest". NB, This was not a representative poll carried out with 500k residents!

If this is the case (and I am mindful of the famous Wembley towers and domes!), how about a compromise solution that meets a modern function, maintains a respect and connection to the history of the site, requires very little public money and builds on where we are today?

We are in the UNESCO World City of Film and Bradford would be stupid not to build on this. "UNESCO Creative City" should be our strap line to quickly state who we are and help differentiate us from other cities. The new City Park (UK's only & Europe's largest) will be hosting large open air events estimated to attract an additional 2 million visitors. The current screen is great but only really serves the customers in the bars area. A much bigger one would really make a major national statement and can be incorporated into some large scale events.

After attending a recent meeting aimed at city centre retailers, safe car parking is a major issue as it for the Alhambra and the National Media Museum (the most visited museum outside of London). Additional capacity is required for the workers at the new Business Park being planned. Trains and buses are not nearly enough if Bradford is to grow.
NCP would be welcome, but ideally one of their competitors would be best to build it so there's no city centre monopoly.
The ground floor would locate the usual retail offering and hopefully attract McDonalds and Mumtaz or other big brands. Further creative treatment can be given to the external appearance to make it more aethetically pleasing, as in the car park at the Royal Armouries. It should NOT look like a normal car park concrete block. The towers remain as stairwells leading to each level.

On a more fanciful level, could the top floor become a Drive In cinema with a free-standing contempory roof and be serviced with drinks, etc by McDonalds below? Could Bradford College bring its Yorkshire Planitarium to the roof to add to the wider Bradford tourism offering and learning experience? It all fits.

This concept is sustainable if the council is serious about maximising the potential of the City Park. It's an opportunity for Bradford to differentiate. Our planners can target car park developers to invest (ie, no public money). It serves a modern Bradford need and builds capacity for further developments. It builds on our UNESCO Creative City status, gives us a more compelling reason to shop in Bradford (in time hopefully encourage new retailers) and keeps a link with the past, including the treasured towers and domes!