Bradford's own JCT600 drives support for city's Great Exhibition of the North bid

Bradford’s bid to host the Great Exhibition of the North gets into gear as the city’s own JCT600 gives its full support.

Headquartered in Bradford, the fourth-generation family business has annual sales in excess of £1bn and employs around 2,300.

John Tordoff, JCT600’s chief executive, said: “As Yorkshire’s biggest family-owned company, we are proud to have built one of Britain’s most successful automotive retailers in our home city.

“Bradford has produced some great entrepreneurs over the years and with its young, diverse and enterprising population, we are very confident that some of the biggest, best and most inspiring companies in the future will be born in Bradford.

“We are delighted to lend our support to the city’s bid to host the Great Exhibition of the North.”

Chairman Jack Tordoff founded the business in 1946 as Brooklands Garage in Sticker Lane, Bradford.

Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe added: “Young entrepreneurs in Bradford have many positive role models in the city, not least the Tordoff family who have created an outstanding business that has gone from strength to strength over the decades.

“We are very pleased to have their support for our bid, which will highlight the ambition and ingenuity of the business community in the North of England.”

The Bradford Chamber of Commerce has already voiced its support for the bid.

For a two-month period, the Great Exhibition of the North will showcase the best of art, culture and design in the North of England to national and international audiences.

The West Yorkshire city will submit a proposal to host the exhibition which is set to take place in summer 2018.

The Northern Powerhouse, which aims to help rebalance the UK economy, will significantly benefit from the Great Exhibition.

The Bradford team will be promoting the city to the bid committee as an area with a strong business community, a budding technology sector, vibrant arts and cultural scene, great transport connections and quality of life.

Bradford is bidding to host the exhibition in the giant natural bowl surrounding City Park in the heart of the city centre.

The National Media Museum will be the anchor for the exhibition with support from neighbouring venues including City Hall, St George’s Hall and Alhambra Theatre. The buildings form a natural bowl shape around the central basin of City Park, the country’s largest water feature.

The multi-award winning park can be drained fully to create a dry plaza for 10,000 people.

Arup, the global engineering consultancy, is advising the bid team on the venues and logistics of handling thousands of visitors a day.

Towns and cities across the North have been invited to submit bids before June 30. The Government has asked Sir Gary Verity to oversee the project.