Bradford Council’s executive is being recommended by officers to accept a deal which would see it buy the former Odeon and Tyrls police station buildings for £1 each.

Both city centre prime site buildings are owned by the Homes and Communities Agency.

Bradford Council had asked the HCA to sell them for the peppercorn price, and also provide £4.1 million for essential work to prepare them for development.

But although the HCA agreed to pay the full £1.32 million towards work on the Odeon, it only offered £2.2 million towards work on the former Tyrls building, almost £600,000 less than the Council wanted.

Now senior councillors are being urged to accept the offer, as £4.4 million in development cash is available from a separate source, the Regional Growth Fund programme, which will allow work to progress.

A report to the Executive, by Barra Mac Ruairi, strategic director for regeneration, warned that declining the HCA’s offer could result in the buildings remaining in their current state, which would “present a major reputational risk to the Council”.

The Council hopes if it buys the Odeon, a number of developers will come forward with “commercially viable” plans to give the building a new lease of life, while retaining all or part of its distinctive architecture. It could invite expressions of interest from mid-June.

Depending on how many offers are received, the Council would draw up a longlist or move straight to a shortlist, with bidders giving in-depth presentations on their plans to an appraisal panel. If no suitable proposal is found by July 2014 its demolition will be considered.

The Council’s plan for the former Tyrls police station building is to see it redevloped into grade A office space. Discussions are now taking place with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service about getting the old cells moved out of the premises.

Bradford Council leader David Green said he agreed the deal should go ahead.

He said: “As far as Tyrls is concerned I think it will enable us to prepare the site for development. We know there is interest in grade A office accommodation in Bradford city centre. I think this is the next stage in getting a developer on the ground, or in the ground, as the case may be.

“As far as the Odeon is concerned, it has been a point of contention for a large number of people in the district concerned about the future of the building. What we have managed to do is secure the building and the finances to keep it for a period of time to allow people who have expressed an interest in it to come forward with detailed development and business proposals.”

The Council’s Executive is due to make a decision on the HCA’s offer at its next meeting, on Tuesday [May 7].

email: claire.armstrong@telegraphandargus.co.uk