The largest conference complex in West Yorkshire has opened for business - by a Bradford church.
The Abundant Life Centre (ALC) has opened its doors as a conference centre with the church's main building able to seat 2,000 delegates or provide up to 1,080 sq metres of space in its multi-million pound complex.
Based in Wapping Road, the centre also boasts a second, 800-seat capacity auditorium and a range of media facilities, including television cameras, video-making equipment and same-day seminar tapes.
Conference manager Shirley Duenas explained how the ALC, a registered charity, took the decision to enter the business world at its complex.
"Ever since the new building opened around a year-and-a-half ago we have been contacted by firms asking us if it was available for conference," she said. "So eventually we decided to do a bit of market research. That showed the demand was out there, and we decided that as long as it didn't interfere with the work of the church it would be a good idea - and a great way of raising funds for all of our community projects."
The rooms are used for worship on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, but Ms Duenas is keen to keep the new initiative on a strictly business footing.
The ALC is to send out a brochure with details of the facilities at the end of the month to all of Yorkshire's biggest employers.
Ms Duenas said: "We are very excited because we think we could draw in many of the large firms who have been using Leeds up to now, and also take up some of the business which has traditionally gone to Harrogate."
Set up in Bradford some 27 years ago, the church regularly attracts more than 1,000 people to its Sunday services and runs a wide range of assistance projects in deprived areas of the district.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article