DETAILS of a religious group's proposals to convert Walthamstow's historic EMD building into a church and six-screen cinema have been revealed.
The plans by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) have been released after it formally submitted a planning application for the Hoe Street scheme to Waltham Forest Council.
It bought and closed the listed cinema in 2003 and has been trying to get permission to convert it for religious use ever since.
The new plans show that UCKG intends to use the main auditorium and stage area as a place of worship, with the lobby converted for a Christian café.
The neighbouring Victoria pub would have its ground floor turned into a training centre and bookshop.
The cinema plans include one screen on the first floor behind the pub with 106 seats, and five screens on the upper second floor, with capacity ranging from 55 to 200 in each room.
The UCKG originally only wanted five screens but says it has included six following a request by a cinema chain which is in negotiations about operating them.
A roof extension would also be built to raise the height of some parts of the building to accommodate the proposals, which also include living quarters for church staff, a youth centre and office space.
The UCKG says the plans will help regenerate Walthamstow and revive the derelict building.
But The McGuffin Film Society, which has been campaigning for the site to be reopened as a cinema, expressed scepticism.
Spokesman Bill Hodgson said: "the only motivation for including screening rooms in this latest scheme is to obtain permission to convert the majority of the site for UCKG use.
“A handful of small screening rooms tacked on to the building’s periphery would in no way compensate for the loss of the main auditorium.”
The UCKG's previous plans for the former EMD were rejected by the council last year and an appeal is due to be heard by the government's planning inspectorate in the autumn.
Residents now have until Saturday July 7 to comment on the plans to the council before a planning meeting later this year.
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