Bradford Live compensation settlement revealed

The original operators of a new music venue paid Bradford Council more than £5m in compensation to end their contract, it has been revealed.

The opening of Bradford Live following the restoration of the former Odeon cinema was delayed after NEC Group pulled out of running the council-owned site last September.

NEC Group had been announced as the operator back in 2017, but were replaced by Trafalgar Entertainment, which signed a 25-year lease to manage Bradford Live in April.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has now ordered the council to release details of the settlement agreed between the two parties.

A statement from Bradford Council said: "Until now the £5,371,000 figure that the NEC Group paid to the council in compensation had been withheld as it was prejudicial to commercial interests and subject to confidentiality requirements under the terms of the settlement.

"The monies received from the settlement have now been deposited in the council's bank account which has consequently reduced the council's borrowing requirement.

"Following the successful appointment of new operators for Bradford Live, the council argued that there was no longer any commercial prejudice and it was in the public interest to override the confidentiality clause.

"The ICO has supported this view and agreed that it is in the public interest to publish the financial settlement and has required the council to do so."

Since the withdrawal of NEC Group, Trafalgar Entertainment has invested £3m into the venue, which the council expects to attract 300,000 people a year to the district.

The opening season of events begins on 30 August with a show by comedian Bill Bailey.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: "We're very pleased that the ICO has ruled that there is public interest in releasing the settlement amount for Bradford Live.

"This is the result we wanted. As people can see we secured a significant settlement from the NEC that protected the interests of the Bradford district taxpayer.

"We waited for the ICO appeal decision before publishing, given that there was an agreement with NEC which made such information commercially confidential.

"With the opening season for Bradford Live under the fantastic new operator Trafalgar Entertainment starting next month we can now all look forward with excitement to a wonderful future for this amazing building."

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