News / Church Road
Hope for campaigners as historic cinema awarded special status
People fighting to save a historic art deco cinema are celebrating after the decision to award the site Asset of Community Value (ACV) status was upheld.
The hidden cinema in the former Wetherspoons on Church Road in Redfield is the subject of a long-running battle between campaigners who want to see it retained and restored and a landowner who wants to redevelop the building.
A planning application submitted by Landrose to convert the property into 13 houses of multiple occupancy (HMO), with 42 bedrooms, together with a gym, communal workspace and commercial space is due to be decided by Bristol City Council’s planning committee in the new year.
is needed now More than ever
Members of the Save Redfield Cinema campaign are now hopeful that this recent decision will help their cause.
They said: “[We hope the] status will demonstrate the reasons why this building, known as St George’s Hall, must remain in the public interest as a vital cultural space for Redfield and beyond.”
The campaign group first put in a successful nomination for the empty building to be awarded ACV status in 2021. However, this decision was overturned following an appeal by Landrose.
A legal wrangle ensued that saw the building awarded ACV status once more in April 2023, a decision that has now been upheld on appeal.
Brendan Tate Wistreich, a resident and Save Redfield Cinema campaign member, led the defence with support from Bristol Law Clinic.
He said: “On behalf of everyone who has supported our campaign, well in the thousands, I thank you for taking our nomination and credentials as a group seriously and recognising the considerable social value that this building has provided since 1912, up until it was recently closed, as well as the potential it could offer our local neighbourhood into the future.
“We value having our rights in the Localism Act upheld, thank you for siding with the decision of CRtB officers and supporting the retention of this incredible asset.”
Campaigners want to see the art deco cinema inside St George’s Hall restored for the community – photo: Rachel Sutherland
The Save Redfield Cinema campaign group is hosting a meeting at The Spark Space, Bethesda Methodist Church on Church Road on Sunday, December 10 to discuss the campaign’s future plans.
Main photo: Ellie Pipe
Read next:
- Opinions wanted on future of historic cinema
- Almost 9,000 people sign petition calling on hidden cinema to be saved
- Stephen Merchant and his dad back Save Redfield Cinema campaign
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