The result of an appeal against the rejection of a church’s plans for the former EMD cinema is to be announced next week.

The Universal Church for the Kingdom of God (UCKG) launched the appeal after its proposals for a church-cinema hybrid at the site in Hoe Street, Walthamstow were rejected by Waltham Forest council last September.

The group bought the listed building in 2002 but has repeatedly failed to get planning permission to convert it into a place of worship.

It had hoped to gain approval for plans to use the main auditorium as a church with other rooms used as cinemas, and after the refusal the group appealed to the government’s planning inspectorate.

The inspectorate held a public inquiry over the plans, and its verdict is set to be announced early next week.

Bill Hodgson, of the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust, which has been campaigning against the UCKG’s plans, hopes the appeal will put an end to the UCKG’s attempts to convert the former cinema and encourage the group to sell the site to the council.

He said: “It really should be the end of the matter. It will be 10 years since the UCKG got it. They keep coming up with new schemes but essentially they want it for church activities.

“There’s no kind of community use really.”

The UCKG's appeal was also against the council's similar rejection of an earlier application from the group to turn the site into a place of worship but without a cinema.

The group says there is a clear need for its church and facilities in the borough, and claims it will be of great benefit to the local community.

But Waltham Forest Council and campaigners say alternative plans to reopen the site as an entertainment venue would help regenerate the area.

If the appeal is rejected Mr Hodgson hopes the council would be prepared to issue a compulsory purchase order, whereby the UCKG has no choice but to sell the site to the authority, if the group declines to do so voluntarily.

The campaigners and the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust could then begin implementing plans to turn it back into a cinema and live performance venue.

But Mr Hodgson admitted campaigners are anxiously waiting for the outcome.

He said: “It’s pretty nerve-racking. We put forward good arguments and made our points well so we have to just wait. We shall see.”

The UCKG has been approached for comment.