City centre pedestrianisation works and Bradford Live win big at awards ceremony
The refurbished former Odeon building, which is due to officially open next month, won the Conservation and Regeneration award at the Yorkshire Constructing Excellence awards on Thursday evening.
And the work that has seen much of Bradford city centre pedestrianised won Infrastructure Project of the Year – and then nabbed the Best of the Best award at the end of the ceremony at Leeds Royal Armouries.
The two winning projects will now compete in a national awards ceremony later this year.
The auditorium in Bradford Live (Image: Bradford Council)
Bradford Live beat numerous other projects, including two more from Bradford. Darley Street Market and the Shipley Sustainable Community Hub in the same category. They also faced non-Bradford projects like the refurbishment of Hull's Maritime Museum and Leeds City College Mabgate Campus.
The city centre pedestrianisation project beat schemes including work to Armley Gyratory, the Copley Flood Alleviation Scheme and Filey Seawall repairs.
A pedestrianised Broadway (Image: T&A)
It was undertaken by Balfour Beatty on behalf of Bradford Council and was funded through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transforming Cities Fund.
Work by Balfour Beatty to re-open Bradford Interchange after a year-long closure had been shortlisted for the Integration and Collaborative Working Award, and although it didn't win the category it was named 'highly commended.'
Organised annually by the School of Built Environment, Engineering and Computing at Leeds Beckett University, the awards are a celebration of the built environment and the construction industry.
Norfolk Gardens (Image: T&A)
Scott Donson, Portfolio Director at Balfour Beatty, commented: 'Winning this award is a fantastic recognition of our teams' hard work and commitment. This project reflects our dedication to collaboration, innovation, and creating meaningful infrastructure that benefits local communities. Bradford holds a bright future, and we are proud to have played a key role in its regeneration efforts.'
Adam Copland, Associate from Turner & Townsend, who were appointed by Bradford Live to project manage the redevelopment the former Odeon, said: 'This was an incredible scheme to be part of, creating an iconic entertainment venue that that will contribute to Bradford city centre's regeneration.'
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council's Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport said: 'There is so much going on in the Bradford district that we are now finding that we're competing against ourselves at these kind of awards.
'Winning and being shortlisted for these awards is a great credit to all our staff and partners who have worked so hard on these amazing projects, and nice to receive the recognition of all that work on top of the fantastic public feedback we've had so far.'
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