WALTHAMSTOW: Church defiant after EMD defeat (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
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WALTHAMSTOW: Church defiant after EMD defeat
9:50am Thursday 19th May 2011 in Waltham Forest News By Ima Jackson-Obot
AN evangelical church has vowed to continue its fight to convert a former cinema into a place of worship.
An application by the United Church for the Kingdom of God to re-open the grade-II listed former EMD building in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, as a church was unanimously rejected by councillors last night following an emotionally charged meeting.
Hundreds of supporters of the church and campaigners pushing for the venue to re-open as a cinema packed the Assembly Hall, with many were left outside.
Listen to the crowds chanting:
Commitee members agreed that the plan would have a detrimental impact on the local economy and is not compatible with the building’s special historic interest.
But Following the committee’s decision to uphold planners' recommendations, the church remained defiant.
UCKG’s Pastor Paul Hill, who before the meeting said the church had the support of 3,000 local people, confirmed an appeal against the decision will be lodged.
He said: “The outcome was expected, wasn't it? The committee was going to follow the officers' report.
“We will never be able to appease those who are opposed to our plans.”
Council leader Chris Robbins said the right decision had been made and the authority will challenge any appeal.
The newly-formed Waltham Forest Cinema Trust, which hopes to raise £9 million to buy and renovate the cinema, said it will be contacting UCKG today with an invitation to begin negotiations on a possible sale of the venue.
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Comments(26)
McTodd
says...
10:43am Thu 19 May 11
"Council leader Chris Robbins said the right decision had been made and the authority will challenge any appeal." Fight the good fight, Councillor Robbins!
Maybe Pastor Paul will think twice in future before ranting to councillors in front of hundreds of Waltham Forest residents, "THE CINEMA IS OURS!!!"
no place like stow
says...
11:18am Thu 19 May 11
Please show the council the names of these 'residents' you claim to have support from and could you ensure that it's a full postcode within the borough...and registered council tax....before you claim these shoddy numbers...
I believe the residents of waltham forest have said no....the make believe residents, as with your current church plans do not exist...
Now, please stop wasting your parishioners money on what is now arugably an ego seeking claim rather than one which will benefit your 'church' which lest you forget, already has a significant enough presence in nearby finsbury park, kilburn, seven sisters...need I go on?
The arrogance that you continue to display, demostrates the lack of sincere christian values you claim to hold...and this is why you will continue to be sent packing. 'Your' money is not enough to stake a claim in this community...
Hex, E11
says...
1:32pm Thu 19 May 11
daveWood
says...
2:28pm Thu 19 May 11
Stow58
says...
4:11pm Thu 19 May 11
Pastor Paul certainly seemed lacking in the humility one might expect in a "man of the cloth".
I was encouraged by the laconic response of one of the planning officers, who commented that, although the UCKG may own the building, it did not mean that they could do with it as they pleased.
There was a good turn out by the locals last night, although the UCKG "locals" presumably all live in the west of the borough, judging by the numbers piling on to the 123 bus (and the tube apparently.
The community has spoken, and the council, I feel were listening. Whether the "Scientology-lite" bods will is another matter.
no place like stow
says...
4:26pm Thu 19 May 11
The Stowaway
says...
8:35pm Thu 19 May 11
mdj
says...
9:59pm Thu 19 May 11
UCKG begging and deceiving in London
uckgcult (You Tube)
Also,guardian.co.uk: Brazilian evangelical leader accused of fraud
Janet1
says...
11:06pm Thu 19 May 11
Are they the ones I met at a demo outside the cinema a few years back, who claimed to live in Walthamstow, but when asked didn't know the names of any roads or landmarks in the area?
Or the ones who all gave an address in Walthamstow - about 40 of them at the same house!
No wonder there were so many coaches parked just round the corner from the pubic inquiry in 2003. Any farther away and these "local" people would have got lost on their way to the getaway vehicles.
Redfox
says...
11:38pm Thu 19 May 11
Sam Hain
says...
11:54pm Thu 19 May 11
Jeremy_Griffiths
says...
1:06am Fri 20 May 11
The Stowaway wrote:If you looked at the Trust's website you'll see they have a credible plan and a credible board of directors. I believe they already have cast iron pledges totalling a a high proportion of that sum . The situation is significantly different now and what we need is for the community to pull together on this, not make sarcy comments about the brilliant campaign that has endured all these years.
So basically no change then, still at least the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust will have something to campaign about for the next ten years, rather then worry about where they are actually going to get 9.5 million should the UCKG ever decide to sell.
VillageIdiot69
says...
10:03am Fri 20 May 11
Jeremy_Griffiths wrote:I'm sorry Jeremy but "cast iron pledges" of funding are no where near as good as cash in the bank. These have a habit of turning into vague promises and then "I'm sorry, but we just haven't got the funds available" at later dates.
The Stowaway wrote:If you looked at the Trust's website you'll see they have a credible plan and a credible board of directors. I believe they already have cast iron pledges totalling a a high proportion of that sum . The situation is significantly different now and what we need is for the community to pull together on this, not make sarcy comments about the brilliant campaign that has endured all these years.
So basically no change then, still at least the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust will have something to campaign about for the next ten years, rather then worry about where they are actually going to get 9.5 million should the UCKG ever decide to sell.
I still think the figure of £9.5 million is woefully short of what is actually required to completely refurbish the building. At a rough estimate, it will cost £2/3 million just to do the mechanical and electrical work up to current standards.
McTodd
says...
11:32am Fri 20 May 11
8:35pm Thu 19 May 11
So basically no change then, still at least the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust will have something to campaign about for the next ten years, rather then worry about where they are actually going to get 9.5 million should the UCKG ever decide to sell.
--------------------
------
So you'd rather the UCKG keep it, even after all their bullying tactics?
JasonOMalley
says...
4:02pm Fri 20 May 11
The link in the attached is only ONE of the hundreds of examples of where money could be attained from. Oh, and they have a mere £1.4bn at their disposal.
http://www.bis.gov.u
k/policies/economic-
development/regional
-growth-fund
The economic downturn hasn't affected sources of money in most cases, it has just changed where it comes from. Keep the faith
thecinemaisours
says...
4:51pm Fri 20 May 11
Lets us all work hard to save the cinema and send the Church packing!
Morvern Calling
says...
5:01pm Fri 20 May 11
http://walthamforest
cinematrust.com/peop
le.html
They have a solid business plan in place and commitments of funding from the Heritage Lottery and Curzon Cinemas to name a few so it is all hopeful and going in a brand new direction so worry not! If you want to help then contact us at hello@savewalthamsto
wcinema.org
thecinemaisours
says...
5:09pm Fri 20 May 11
Morvern Calling wrote:Great, very impressive, well worth a look, great to see so many qualified people on board. Good to see BH still in the front of things as well.
Hi there, most of the people behind the Trust are new to the campaign and Bill is a Trustee: http://walthamforest cinematrust.com/peop le.html They have a solid business plan in place and commitments of funding from the Heritage Lottery and Curzon Cinemas to name a few so it is all hopeful and going in a brand new direction so worry not! If you want to help then contact us at hello@savewalthamsto wcinema.org
marsdan
says...
5:10pm Fri 20 May 11
Jeremy_Griffiths
says...
5:28pm Fri 20 May 11
thecinemaisours
says...
10:35pm Fri 20 May 11
Jeremy_Griffiths wrote:I agree an again say that having looked at the highly qualified experience of Members elected to the revamped Save our Cinema campaign, i have for the first time in months felt very confident that the cinema actually can be saved! I felt a little on the back foot as on paper the Church own it but after the unprecedented turn out on Wednesday of the Mcguffin's there is now a real prospect of the Councillors engaging brain, getting into top gear and forcing a Compulsory Purchase Order. even if it takes 20 years we know now that all is not lost and that with the newly formed Committee we can strive to achieve results where the likes of Loakes have let us down by throwing in the towell.
In the past people have criticised the campaign for having no credible plan/alternative in place. They have now; what I'm asking the sceptics to do is acknowledge the efforts made by the newly-formed Trust - look at their website, the people they have involved and get behind it. They are professional and know what they are talking about re the cost projections.
I had such a great day on Wednesday. I arrived early and had a wander around the Town Hall and saw the plaque of a V2 rocket within the foyer.
After our great victory I thought back to that plaque and felt that like we fought outsiders during WW2, we are in a sort of (local) way doing it again and in tribute to those victims of that V2 rocket all those years ago. Well done! let us continue to save our beautiful and fantastic building and brind down the church campaign!
sensibility
says...
10:59pm Fri 20 May 11
Sam Hain
says...
8:03pm Sat 21 May 11
cinemalover
says...
7:45pm Tue 24 May 11
VillageIdiot69 wrote:Oh have you been in there recently? Wonder how you come up with those figures of £2/3million?
Jeremy_Griffiths wrote:I'm sorry Jeremy but "cast iron pledges" of funding are no where near as good as cash in the bank. These have a habit of turning into vague promises and then "I'm sorry, but we just haven't got the funds available" at later dates. I still think the figure of £9.5 million is woefully short of what is actually required to completely refurbish the building. At a rough estimate, it will cost £2/3 million just to do the mechanical and electrical work up to current standards.The Stowaway wrote: So basically no change then, still at least the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust will have something to campaign about for the next ten years, rather then worry about where they are actually going to get 9.5 million should the UCKG ever decide to sell.If you looked at the Trust's website you'll see they have a credible plan and a credible board of directors. I believe they already have cast iron pledges totalling a a high proportion of that sum . The situation is significantly different now and what we need is for the community to pull together on this, not make sarcy comments about the brilliant campaign that has endured all these years.
VillageIdiot69
says...
1:32pm Wed 25 May 11
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Jeremy_Griffiths says...
10:33am Thu 19 May 11