A first look inside the former night club set to become Bradford’s new city centre church shows there’s lots of work to do.
Since the Revolution nightclub closed its doors more than three years ago, it has suffered much damage and abuse due to vandalism.
A clean-up operation is well underway, but drugs paraphernalia and other litter still needs to be safely cleared away, as shown in the pictures, courtesy of the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
Reverend Linda Maslen, Minister at Fountains Church told the newspaper: “As we look at every needle that has been dropped in here, every drug capsule that’s been left behind, every empty alcohol bottle - those represent people’s lives that are in ruins.
“We know through our previous experience that for a lot of people, as they journey away from the chaos of drugs and drink, then actually faith becomes a really important thing.
“The higher power we believe in of course is God - as people begin to find God then actually their lives can be really significantly transformed,” said Revd Linda.
Speaking about the current state of the building, Nathan Hughes, from project managers Mac Consulting said: “It’s a sorry state, it’s not looking very well. It has clearly been misused for a couple of years now.
He added: “In terms of value, size of building, it’s not particularly large. In terms of the complexity of it, it’s been a challenge to date.
“Originally we were looking at a couple of weeks to get the building clear, the more and more we go into it, the more and more issues we find.
“Concealed needles and that sort of thing. That process can’t be rushed and until we clear everything of hazardous waste and needles, we can’t move all of the big stuff.”
It’s hoped the church will be open - in some way - for worship by June next year, Revd Linda said.
“Stage one will be to create, within the ground level, a worship space for around 200 people,” she said.
“A space that can be used for other activities as well - not creating a church with pews in it, but creating an open space where we can do other communal activities.
“There will be a cafe and a social enterprise which will enable people to get their feet on to the job market, get used to perhaps initially volunteering and then, if they’re capable of volunteering, get them into some paid employment.”
“Our hope is that this place will be brimming full of people,” she added.
“People of faith, people of different faiths, so lots of things going on, lots of activities during the week.
“Definitely not a Sunday-only church, but a church that is operating maybe even 24/7.”