Opinions wanted on future of historic cinema

Save Redfield Cinema campaign group want to hear from members of the public on what they believe the future of a 110-year-old cinema should look like.

The grassroots group is holding a number of events to showcase its ideas and to soak up community voices and opinions on the former cinema located at the back of the former St George’s Hall pub building on Church Road.

The group has alternative ideas to the plans put forward by private owner and developer, Landrose Group to turn the building into a 44-bed shared living space or HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation).

Landrose has announced it will be submitting a planning application for the 44-bed HMO, and a public consultation on this will be held on Wednesday, November 30 inside the former cinema from 5pm until 8.30pm.

Save Redfield Cinema campaign group want to hear from members of the public on the future of the 110-year-old cinema – photo: Rachel Sutherland

Save Redfield Cinema campaign group is encouraging the public to attend the consolation, to make their voices heard.

The group has a vision for the historic, 750- seat art deco cinema to be turned into a community space with a three-screen cinema, a community food hall, a venue for events and meetings and a housing provision.

A petition calling for the cinema, which is largely intact despite the fact it closed its doors as a functional cinema back in 1961, to be saved has gained more than 9,700 signatures.

On Sunday, Save Redfield Cinema campaign group held its first of its ‘ideas share’ events at St George Community Centre.

There are more opportunities for the public to have their say on the future of Redfield Cinema:

• Thursday, December 1, between 1pm and 3pm at Wellspring Settlement, 43 Ducie Road, Barton Hill, BS5 0AX
• Saturday, December 3, between 2.30pm and 4pm at Bethesda Methodist Church, 138a Church Road, BS5 9HH
• Sunday, December 4, between 5pm and 7pm at St George Community Centre, Church Road, BS5 8AA

The group has been working collaboratively with UWE MA Architectural students who have produced a scale model of the building, to ensure its plans are structurally possible.

A student who has been working on this project, Toby Grimwood-Snook, said: “This is a really ethnically diverse area and there’s no mutual community space.

“This site could be a middle ground for all cultures to meet, watch films in different languages and eat food from different parts of the world.

“The cinema is still really intact, it’s situated right on the high street, and it’s got so much space on offer.”

(Left to right) Krishnaj Krishnankutty, Emma Ansell and Toby Grimwood-Snook are studying on a Master of Architecture course at UWE and have produced a scale model of the building – photo: Rachel Sutherland

Dave Taylor-Matthews is a proud member of Save Redfield Cinema campaign group and lives just around the corner from the historic site. The 44-year-old said: “We’re not trying to set up a campaign that’s in adversity to Landrose. We’ve always been saying ‘what this area needs is housing’, but also something for the community and this site can easily fit all of those things.

“We have a lot of expertise on our team advising us and we’ve been wanting to have a serious conversation with Landrose. They’ve been saying they’ll meet us for a long time and haven’t and now they’ve just announced they’ll be resubmitting plans for the 44-bed HMO.”

Dave Taylor-Matthews is a proud member of Save Redfield Cinema campaign group and lives just around the corner from the historic site- photo: Rachel Sutherland

Dave is encouraging as many people as possible to come along to the group’s events to “feed into these viable plans so we can find out exactly what people want.” He added: “There are some people who say cinema is dying, it’s definitely not, it’s just changing. It’s an industry that’s been going for 100 years and it has always been changing.

“It’s changed from single-screen big picture palaces, like St George’s Hall. It changed into the multiplex model in the 80s and now it’s changing to smaller, neighbourhood cinemas with lower capacities, multiple screens and food and drink on offer – nicer places where people actually want to hang out, rather than simply come, see a film, buy some popcorn and leave.

“That’s the current trend and this is the perfect spot for it.”

Main photo: Marianne Mooney

Read next:

• Stephen Merchant and his dad back Save Redfield Cinema campaign 
• Cinema still part of plans for former Wetherspoons 
• St George residents demand redesign of ‘notoriously dangerous’ crossing 

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