Outdoor seating planned for theatre cafe-bar

Concert-goers in Bradford would be able to enjoy outdoor drinks under plans to extend a cafe-bar to include outdoor seating.

Bradford Theatres, run and managed by the city council, hopes to add outdoor seating to the pedestrian area outside St George's Hall on Hall Ings.

The council has also submitted an amendment to the premises licence to allow alcohol to be sold in the seating area.

If granted, the area would seat about 40 people, and would operate from Tuesday to Saturday between 11:00 and 15:00, or into the evening on show days.

The plan comes after a £45m scheme to pedestrianise the city centre ended earlier this year.

The space would include outdoor chairs, tables and parasols, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council's executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said: "With work on the Transforming Cities Fund Scheme coming to an end, the newly pedestrianised areas are already attracting more people to the city centre.

"The vision was to create traffic-free spaces for people, which are easy to get around and pleasant for people to spend time.

"It was always envisaged that newly pedestrian areas would be ideal for this type of use, so I'm delighted that Bradford Theatres are considering this option for St George's Hall.

"The new spaces are also ideal for events, like the way the space was used last weekend for the brass event which was really well attended."

Adam Renton, general manager for Bradford Theatres, said: "We have already seen increased footfall around St George's Hall since the new pedestrian areas have been completed, and it's the perfect time for us to look at ways to expand our cafe-bar offer.

"Having this outdoor space will allow us to encourage people to extend the time they spend in the city centre when coming to see one of our shows.

"It will also increase the visibility of our existing cafe-bar from the street."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.