A CRAVEN ward councillor said Bradford Council efforts to attract investment by spending in the city centre are leaving behind outlying parts of the district.

Councillor Adrian Naylor was reacting to a news article which reported the council spent almost £9 million buying buildings in a bid to protect and improve the city’s future.

The story noted that the local authority had spent £8.8 million buying a car park, homes, pubs and offices, as part of a strategy to acquire land for future developments.

But Cllr Naylor said the figure of almost £8.8 million is not an accurate reflection of just how much money Bradford Council has spent in and around the city centre.

He said the real total is even higher, citing additional money spent on Jacob’s Well and the Odeon.

Cllr Naylor said: “The council bought Jacob’s Well for £4.4 million and spent two years’ worth of their refurbishment budget on doing it up. The building will likely be demolished at public expense, which could cost another half a million.

“They moved staff out of Jacob’s Well at cost of £2 million because they had to refurbish Britannia House in order to move the staff there.

“Jacob’s Well has been empty since 2015, so Bradford Council has spent all this money on an asset we’ve not had a return on.

“Add to that the money which has been pumped into the Odeon.

“All this is being focused on the centre of Bradford, when there’s nothing for outlying areas.

“From what I can see at the moment, the city centre is not attracting private sector investment. The expenditures being made by Bradford Council are not bringing in the level of private sector investment one would expect.

“Spending more council money on the rest of the district, outside of the city centre, could create a better economic stimulus.”

However, a Bradford Council spokesman responded: “This investment strategy is being carefully applied across Bradford district and includes some sites on North and Cavendish Streets in Keighley.

“Our economic strategy highlights the importance of the whole of Bradford district to unlocking our growth potential.

"That's why we launched the district growth strategy to support businesses like Moin Moin bakery in Ilkley, who've already benefited, and have sold surplus assets to support the expansion of businesses like TecnAir and Saltaire Brewery in Shipley.

“Many of the purchases will produce savings or cost the council nothing in the long term. Some may even make modest returns.

“By refurbishing and moving staff out of other buildings, the Jacob’s Well project has saved £1.65 million per year in rental and running costs on other buildings amounting to £8.8 million on a £7.4 million spend.

“The Jacob’s Well project allowed us to sell the council’s Olicana House, Rooley Lane and Romanby Shaw offices for £1.1 million and saved £4.3 million in potential maintenance costs.

“Investment in the former Odeon helped secure the NEC Group as the private sector operator for the venue which will attract an extra 300,000 visitors to the district every year.

“Rent revenues will also pay for the purchase of the NCP car park over the long term. This will provide the council with a key asset as we undertake work to consider how a high speed rail line could be part of a redeveloped interchange station in future.”