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WALTHAMSTOW: EMD church plan set to be rejected

4:36pm Tuesday 10th May 2011 in Your Local Areas

The former EMD building in Hoe Street The former EMD building in Hoe Street

AN application to convert a historic former cinema into a church looks set to be turned down.

Council planners have recommended councillors reject the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God’s (UCKG) proposal for the former EMD building in Hoe Street, Walthamstow.

The Planning Committee is set to make a decision on the site on Wednesday (May 18), when campaigners pushing for the venue to be re-opened as a cinema are expected to turn out in force.

A report says the plan would have a detrimental impact on the local economy and is not compatible with the building’s special historic interest.

It also says the proposal does not include enough cinema use and fails to demonstrate that a cinema on the site is not viable.

However, UCKG this week remained bullish over its plans, saying it had no intention of selling the building.

Paul Hill, UCKG HelpCentre’s property acquisitions manager, said: “We believe that committee members of Waltham Forest Council will consider our proposal on its strong, well considered planning and regeneration merits.”

The Waltham Forest Cinema Trust hopes to open negotiations with UCKG after the planning meeting.

It is looking to raise £9.5 million to renovate and re-open the venue as a cinema and entertainment venue.

Bill Hodgson, spokesman for the McGuffin Film Society, welcomed the recommendation, but sounded a note of caution. He said: "On the face of it this is a fantastic recommendation and a great tribute to everyone in the borough who has worked so hard in support of the cinema campaign.

"But it is just the recommendation and it still needs to be voted on by councillors so this is not over yet.

"We are now urging everyone to attend next week's planning committee meeting to demonstrate their support for this recommendation".

Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy backed the trust’s plans.

She said: “I believe these plans could offer both a way of celebrating the heritage of this site and make a fantastic contribution to the future for our town centre.

“Planning laws give clear guidance that where there is a ‘appropriate and viable use of [a] heritage asset’ this should be taken into consideration in determining any planning application.”

A public inquiry in 2003 concluded that plans to convert the venue into a church should be rejected.

A recent council-commissioned report stated the building could act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the area if it is re-opened as an entertainment venue.

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Comments(24)

Morvern Calling says...
4:50pm Tue 10 May 11

Great news but remember that this is still only a recommendation so please come along on the 18th May to show that we really do need our cinema back!!

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Joe Swayton says...
4:54pm Tue 10 May 11

I am sure the Church are entitled by law to appeal?

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cinemalover says...
5:52pm Tue 10 May 11

They appealed before. It was turned down. And the Secretary of State doesn't often go against its previous decision as well as the decision of the local council. But all up in the air..

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forlorn says...
6:49pm Tue 10 May 11

I certainly hope the church's plans are rejected once and for all. But even if the church does sell up it will be tough for the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust to raise £9.5 million in these difficult economic times when arts funding is being cut all over the place. WFCT's proposals for the site look fine and dandy and their committee team looks strong, but they don't say where all the money is coming from to refurbish the old cinema and the surrounding site. Maybe they will get some money from the National Lottery Fund but who in the private sector will take a gamble on this project when times are hard? I don't wish to sound like a miserable pessimist but I'm not convinced that NOW is the time for grand plans in the arts sector.

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The Stowaway says...
8:09pm Tue 10 May 11

So as planning permission for a church looks to be turned down again, and raising 9.5 million is basically just pie in the sky, my money is on it standing empty for another 10 years.

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RichieA70 says...
8:31pm Tue 10 May 11

Of course the money can be raised - much of it has already been pledged already.

The cinema was built during the Great Depression and construction work started in the year of the Wall Street crash!

Huge arts projects requiring bigger funding than this are still happening.

Come to the Town Hall Wednesday 18th May at 7pm to show your support!

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RichieA70 says...
8:31pm Tue 10 May 11

Of course the money can be raised - much of it has already been pledged already.

The cinema was built during the Great Depression and construction work started in the year of the Wall Street crash!

Huge arts projects requiring bigger funding than this are still happening.

Come to the Town Hall Wednesday 18th May at 7pm to show your support!

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mdj says...
9:33pm Tue 10 May 11

£9.5 million is the highest figure by far that has been cited as necessary to get the cinema operational. It does not refer to the open market value: what is the value of a cinema building whose owner is determined to keep idle, unless one particular use is granted? 2 or 3 million, at most.Let us hope that the Council at last refuse to be blackmailed: if the Church have absolutely no prospect of getting their way, and a pledged buyer is ready to take over, the Council will incur no risk with a CPO.
And forlorn, raising this money isn't a job for 'they', but 'we', surely!

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forlorn says...
10:04pm Tue 10 May 11

Richie, who precisely has been pledging the money to refurbish the cinema and arcade site?

mdj, how do you propose 'we' raise £9.5 million? Sponsored swims? Raffles? Auctioning photos of Clyde Loakes?

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GirlE17 says...
10:08pm Tue 10 May 11

Please dont let anyone on the council say
The youth of E17 really need another church instead of a cinema to give them something to do !!
(Like last time it has been noted)

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Joe Swayton says...
10:25pm Tue 10 May 11

forlorn wrote:
Richie, who precisely has been pledging the money to refurbish the cinema and arcade site?

mdj, how do you propose 'we' raise £9.5 million? Sponsored swims? Raffles? Auctioning photos of Clyde Loakes?
I agree, it seems odd at this late hour.

A lot of money to pledge.

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forlorn says...
10:53pm Tue 10 May 11

Here are some words from WFCT's website which explain how they hope to get the £9.5 million. A lot of fine sentiments but nothing definite yet about who is actually going to give them the money if they manage to purchase the site.

"This total will be achieved through a mix of statutory (Lottery) and other large-scale funding, charitable foundations, architectural trusts and major gifts from individuals. We have already begun the process of applying for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Heritage of London Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund have both offered advice and support in attracting grants and the Board of Directors have previous experience of securing large scale capital funding for similar projects....The timescale for this fundraising is 24 months. The Trust already has serious interest from major funding bodies, subject to the acquisition of the building."

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cinemalover says...
11:32pm Tue 10 May 11

Well I guess they had to form the trust in order to be eligible for funding and grants and what have you. I guess they've looked into it. They seem to have a professional fundraiser. I spose everything won't happen at once.

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Morvern Calling says...
12:10am Wed 11 May 11

Indeed there has to be an umbrella body in place in order to get funding and you are right professionals are all on the ball getting every detail correct! Regarding serious funding offers as well as Heritage Lottery if you look in the Trust's briefing document then you can see that Curzon cinemas have written an expression of interest!

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Joe Swayton says...
6:10am Wed 11 May 11

The Church will still have to agree to sell it and will no doubt resist any attempt to compulsory purchase it?

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mdj says...
9:29am Wed 11 May 11

'mdj, how do you propose 'we' raise £9.5 million? Sponsored swims? Raffles? Auctioning photos of Clyde Loakes?'
All those and more, forlorn!There must be quite an archive of photos of Mr Loakes that would do admirably.
I repaired churches for 25 years, and I lost count of the number of priests who proudly told me that their grand stone building was paid for by the pennies of the poor, often refugees from the Irish famine, who put a little by every week. This task is trivial by comparison, which is why I've been urging for years that a fund be set up to help buy the building when opportunity allowed, and to leverage other funds ( no doubt you've heard of mortgages, covenants, planned giving?). I only regret that this scheme is so late in the day, but we need not be 'forlorn' about it!

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clptalk says...
1:51pm Wed 11 May 11

I think this is a lot of money to raise, and still more work to make the place viable but the trust should be given a chance. No-one is going to give them the money until they have the building so its unfair to criticise them on not having the money yet.

And much as I'd like to see the cinema back I would rather it remained empty for another 10 years than have dodgy church there causing massive chaos and disruption on a busy road in a residential and shopping area.

I hope the Councillors give the church a loud resounding refusal.

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PhilipHerlihy says...
3:18pm Wed 11 May 11

I've just finished ploughing through all 61 pages of the report: http://www1.walthamf
orest.gov.uk/moderng
ov/ieListDocuments.a
spx?CId=297&MId=2583
&Ver=4

It's very thorough, and has indeed picked up all the issues that I feared might be filtered out by the necessities of the arcane planning process. I think the officers concerned are to be applauded for defending a treasured facility, and I just hope we'll feel the same about the committee members on the 18th. And let's be resolved to keep up the fight if the blighters drag it to another appeal!

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Janet1 says...
4:45pm Wed 11 May 11

Good work by the council planning department, but it needs all our support. See you 7pm on Weds 18 May outside the town hall.

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forlorn says...
5:13pm Wed 11 May 11

The part of the cinema story I've never properly understood is this: why did UCKG buy a Grade 2 listed cinema (if indeed it was a Grade 2 listed cinema when they bought it) knowing that it would be a struggle to get planning permission to convert it into a church? Did someone (on the council perhaps?) tell UCKG that once they had bought the cinema they would get the planning permission they required? Otherwise why on earth would they have bought the cinema in the first place?

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Walthamster says...
5:40pm Wed 11 May 11

It certainly was a Grade 2 Listed cinema, spectacularly beautiful inside and still in use as a cinema until the day the UCKG bought it.

It had one of the few working cinema organs in the country, and crowds came from around the country to concerts.

The UCKG buy cinemas to hold huge gatherings where people pour out their life savings in the hope of miracles. Size is important for this. You couldn't whip up enough of a frenzy in a little hall.

They've got away with it so often, they presumably think they always will.

But I can see your point. I have wondered, over the years, who has been helping them, feeding rumours to the press that a multiplex is about to be built next door when a cinema-operator wanted to buy the EMD...

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E17006 says...
10:22pm Wed 11 May 11

The multiplex proposal was in numerous council reports for the arcade site. Surely council minutes will reveal the source of this plan?

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cinemalover says...
11:33pm Wed 11 May 11

Walthamster wrote:
It certainly was a Grade 2 Listed cinema, spectacularly beautiful inside and still in use as a cinema until the day the UCKG bought it.

It had one of the few working cinema organs in the country, and crowds came from around the country to concerts.

The UCKG buy cinemas to hold huge gatherings where people pour out their life savings in the hope of miracles. Size is important for this. You couldn't whip up enough of a frenzy in a little hall.

They've got away with it so often, they presumably think they always will.

But I can see your point. I have wondered, over the years, who has been helping them, feeding rumours to the press that a multiplex is about to be built next door when a cinema-operator wanted to buy the EMD...
I agree. They never had opposition before so had the confidence to buy it for well over the market price!!!

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Walthamster says...
11:46pm Wed 11 May 11

E17006 wrote:
The multiplex proposal was in numerous council reports for the arcade site. Surely council minutes will reveal the source of this plan?
Plans to build a multiplex in the town centrehave been made and dropped many times over the years.

Somehow when a buyer came in sight, there would be a 'leak' that the multiplex was on again and about to be built, and the buyer would back off.

Maybe something has changed. The council got a lot of flak for donating acres of land intended for playing fields to the Waltham Forest Muslim Burial Trust (which didn't even serve all the borough's Muslims) -- an unwarranted gift that deprived the borough of the land and the money it should have brought in.

If people on the council who care about Walthamstow are now getting their voices heard, that's a good thing.

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