no, no-one has threatend to sue the council over the odeon. however, given the state of dis-repair it's in, if part of it should fall off and hit someone then the council will get slapped with large lawsuits and "why was this allowed to happen?" smart articles

"Allowed" suggests it getting in that state was a natural process.

What's the latest on the other building site at the bottom of Godwin St? I read in the T&A some weeks ago that work had been suspended and the Council had been asked to bailout the builders.

If the Odeon comes down too that would make three large holes in the ground in the city centre with more due once they pull down the old police station and law courts to make way for the big pond.

I bet the Luftwaffe couldn't have got better results if they'd been given a free run at it.

rather frightening. would a differently elected council done any different?

I'm wondering if voters realised what they were letting themselves in for when this shower took over?

There's a demo at Centenery Square at noon this Saturday apparently. Not sure who's organising it but linked to BORG I think.

I think it's our student's union, but subsequently BORG approved.

I was torn between that and the EDL protest in Leeds, but it turns out I won't have time for either now.

This could be a good opportunity in the long run though. A chance for the people of Bradford to have a say on what a city centre should be for and rebuilding it to their own needs and beliefs

A forum style area with a colonnaded walkway would be nice, a central space for people to meet and artists to work unfettered by commercial properties, how about a new triumphal arch in memory of fallen British servicemen, a victory column to sporting teams past glories, a grassy area for people to sit and read and chat in peace and quiet??

Too many city centres these days are just places where people go shopping, drink overpriced coffees and other dubious beverages sold at coffee outlets, theres not enough public space that isn't directly for commercial usages.

Shame - I'm told they're down on their skinhead quota for this particular march.

Wouldn't it all ultimately be ruined by vandals though?

It's best to prepare for such things by not shaving for several weeks. It's less stabby that way.

That would be strange the offices are fully let AFAIK (proivident financial moving) and the rest it a hotel so unless the chain has pulled out it still appears to be all go

I think they're working again. More of it was up this week than last time I went past, and that last time was after they'd asked for a loan from the council.

IIRC there were 3 schemes put forward by the architects a couple of years back, one included retaining the domes, the chosen scheme at that time excluded the domes. Part of the approved scheme included for flats & a fair bit of space for Bradford College. I spoke with the architect a couple of weeks ago, I think these latter 2 inclusions have now changed due to the economic climate. From what he said though, a scheme has now been given the go-ahead (sans domes).

Its all very depressing. Bradford Council should hang their heads in shame.

Email them folks, email them.

I heard there was some sort of 'Bradford Council are sh !t' type march on Saturday afternoon....don't know how true it is but it perhaps is the only thing that everyone in Bradford could agree on.

12 o'clock at Centenary Square. Look at the link above somewhere.

OK, so I don't read threads properly.



I'm rehearsing already: 'what do we want' (insert reply..usually 5% or something) 'when do we want it?' NOW

The Director of Westfield came on breakfast this morning on BBC and didn't seem apologetic at all that it wasn't built yet.

Indeed, the T&A reports today the [url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4714269.Council_loans_firm___6m_to_finish_building/Council lent 'em £6,000,000.[/url

There's no story there until they get the press release.

It`s totally true. they are .

True but I was referring to the march.

That's true too. 12pm, Centenary Square. Or possibly outside the Odeon, I forget. Defo 12pm though.

I`d say it was a `natural` process.

Human activity (putting up buildings etc) is really us showing our power over nature. We do have the power to keep our buildings but only if we actively maintain them. When we fail to do that then we "allow" nature to take its course. Of course you can argue the semantics of whether (actively?)planning to do nothing is passive or active (in so much as we are allowing nature to be agent) in demolishing the building.

One thing is for sure though; without any obvious way of getting any return for the investment, the owners aren`t going to put in any more cash than they can help beyond the safety requirements alluded to in a previous post. This applies particularly when the owners are the ones who actively decided to be inactive.................

Right, "dahn wiv 'em" it is then!