THE restoration project for the Bradford Odeon has been given a further boost after the Government announced a bid for £4 million of funding has been successful.

The dilapidated building now looks set to be transformed into a 4,000 capacity live music venue after the funding, combined with a loan from Bradford Council and money from private investors, helped hit the fundraising target for the project.

In September, plans were announced to re-open the derelict 1930s cinema as a major live music venue, with NEC Group International signing a 30-year lease as the preferred operator.

The scheme was costed at £19.8 million, with hopes that the venue would open in 2020.

Bradford Council is handing over a £12 million loan to boost the redevelopment project.

Once completed, developers expect the venue to host more than 200 events a year, attracting 270,000 people to Bradford city centre annually with a £10 million boost to the local economy.

Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said: “This £4 million investment will not only bring a beloved historic building back to life, but will give Bradford a long-awaited live music venue to put the city back on the touring map.

"This is an important piece in the regeneration of Bradford and will create a cultural venue to be enjoyed by its young and diverse population.”

Other recipients of funding are Blackpool, which has received £4 million for a museum about the town's history, and the Lake District, which will get £3.29 million to enhance visitor experience to the World Heritage Site.

Roger Marsh OBE, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “This project will bring a much-loved building back into use, provide an exciting new facility and support the continuing economic transformation of Bradford city centre.

“A rejuvenated Odeon will be a valuable addition to the vibrant cultural offer of the Leeds City Region.

“The fact that the Leeds City Region bid is one of just three to secure funding from this fund shows the strength of the case we put forward in partnership with Bradford Council and Bradford Live and the power of the vision we share for Bradford and the wider area.”

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and leader of Bradford Council, added: “This is fantastic news and another significant step forward for this project to bring the former Bradford Odeon building back into use, attracting 270,000 people to the city centre and boosting the economy by £10 million every year.

“Our success in this bid, following our shortlisting to host the Great Exhibition of the North, represents further national recognition of the strength of Bradford’s cultural contribution and the role it is playing to deliver a great quality of life and support the city’s economic growth.

“Thanks to support from Bradford Council and the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool, empty buildings and spaces across the city will be transformed into a venues hosting events to further complement the Great Exhibition of the North over the summer months.”

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Bradford East MP Imran Hussain said: "This is a great day for Bradford with this fantastic news that cannot be more warmly welcomed and cannot be more deserved.

"I am pleased that my months of lobbying Ministers and meeting a host of different groups has paid off and the regeneration of the Odeon into one of the North’s premier music venues can finally get underway.

“The Odeon has stood empty for far too long, but once restored, it will stand in place as the truly iconic venue that it is, in a regenerated city centre and revitalised Bradford, bringing thousands of visitors and representing the rebirth of our city as one of the places to be.”

Northern Powerhouse Minister, Jake Berry, said: “These multi-million pound cultural investments in Blackpool, Bradford and the Lake District represent a major economic and cultural boost for the Northern Powerhouse.

"From converting a vacant cinema into a state-of-the-art venue to improving access to the UK’s newest World Heritage site, these investments will have a transformative effect, benefitting local communities by creating new jobs while increasing tourism from across the UK and further afield."

Si Cunningham, chair of Bradford Civic Society, said: “This is yet another great day for Bradford as part of our city’s continued efforts to bring this much-loved building back to life.

"Ever since Bradford Live first unveiled their ambitious proposals for a new world-class music venue, the grassroots support for the rebirth of the Odeon has been overwhelming.

"I’m especially happy that Bradford Civic Society has been at forefront of this final push for funding, and very proud of our members, who’ve campaigned tirelessly to save the building and even rolled their sleeves up to get in there and give it a bit of TLC earlier this year.

"This project is about more than a building though, it’s a rare opportunity to transform a large part of our city centre and will complete an already impressive backdrop to City Park.

"I thank everyone who’s got involved and lobbied for this final piece of funding – it’s been a true community effort and something the people of Bradford should be enormously proud of.”