Reprieve

@appertunity has beaten me to this story today, and deservedly so as he's been actively campaigning to Save Our Odeon.

The Bradford Odeon has been a consistent subject of this journal. I first mentioned it in December 201o, and then I started to tell its story the following month. It's also formed a backdrop to the City Park, both as the park was under construction, when Spage Age Bradford arrived and more recently when the mirror pool finally filled.

I think my best Odeon blips have been reflections: one in the neighbouring Alhambra Theatre, and one in the former police station opposite.

Throughout this time, and for years before that, the Odeon has been under severe threat of demolition. While it is still far from certain that that fate has been averted, it was announced yesterday that the current proposed development is not being allowed to go forward. This means that all options are once again being considered, including those that see this iconic but woefully neglected building retained.

The creative folk of Bradford will not be short of ideas as to what to do with the place. The current economic climate makes it more likely that the solution will be cultural than business oriented, although of course culture can be commercial too.

For now though, there is a sense that the City wants the Odeon to be saved, and if I keep this journal going for long enough, maybe I'll get to share the day it reopens in another guise.