Morning:
8°c
MPs battle to save Waltham Forest cinema
5 Feb 2010East London MPs have joined forces to show cross-party support for the campaign to save Waltham Forest's only cinema.
Iain Duncan Smith, Tory MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, and Labour's Neil Gerrard, for Walthamstow, visited the site of the Grade II-listed cinema in Hoe Street to give their backing.
The cinema was designed by Russian theatre director Theodore Komisarjevsky, who was married to actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft.
But it was sold to the UCKG church seven years ago and their latest plans to turn it into a place of worship are with Waltham Forest Council. Earlier proposals were rejected after an inquiry.
Mr Duncan Smith said the Art Deco gem should reopen as a cinema.
Mr Gerrard said: “I do not believe that the proposed UCKG development would be used by many local people.”
Reader views (2)
Walthamstow should be invested in and yes, cleaned up, as you say Richard - but what better way to get the area's night time economy up and running than by giving people somewhere to go of an evening?! Yes, a cinema! Waltham Forest is the only borough in all of London with no cinema at all (and no theatre come to that - or decent music venues!). With such a mixed community here, we don't need another place of worship (there are over 200 and many are under-attended already), we need a place of entertainment that everyone can go to - regardless of background or belief. And not only would it help the night-time economy, it would bring regeneration to the area - something which is sorely needed...
- Lizzie, Walthamstow, London, 13/02/2010 16:50
Report abuse
If anyone wants to open a cinema this is not the place, unless they clean that part of town up, it is a disgrace. I use to go to the three cinemas that used to be there a good few years ago, it even had a pool that also held gigs in the sixties, I think the Who or Stones played there. Now it is filthy, with takeaways crap shops and not a good place to be at night. Passing in the bus not long ago gangs where prevalent. Would you go if you saw this?
- Richard, London, 08/02/2010 13:22
Report abuse
