‘My 150-year-old cinema faces becoming another London tower block’

Genesis Cinema is any movie-lover’s dream, with classic movie posters hanging on exposed brick with film club leaflets littering the bar.

But the independent venue, on Mile End in east London, has been pushed beneath the waves of whatever new world-ending event would hit it next.

Lockdowns, the cost-of-living crisis and the Hollywood writers’ strike put the brakes on the most successful years the cinema had ever had in 2019.

‘It has just been one thing after another,’ owner Tyrone Walker-Hebborn said. ‘The price of popcorn alone went up 300%, but of course we couldn’t put our costs up because then no one would come.’

Left with no choice but to re-work the building, the 60-year-old came up with a clever plan: To build student accommodation on top of the cinema.

This, he says, would bring in enough money to save the cinema, which will be based on the floors below.

But Tower Hamlets Council have put a stop to this. Why? They want more council housing.

‘No one wants to save this cinema more than me’

The building has operated as an independent entertainment venue for around 170 years.

It has been a public house, music hall and even a theater where Charlie Chaplin first made a name for himself at age 12.

But it is not just the age of the venue – Tyrone’s family rather unexpectedly runs deep in the building.

The owner has even remortgaged and downsized his family home to try and save it – but this is not enough to keep it afloat forever.

He said: ‘One time I brought my dad in here to fix a hole in the roof and suddenly revealed it was where he and my began courting.

‘No one wants to save this more than me.’

And when big films are on the cinema thrives. The arrival of Barbie and Oppenheimer led to their biggest ever intake, but relying on Hollywood delivering these kind of films consistently is a fool’s errand.

So in facing the facts, the building needed to be changed. And Tyrone came up with the ‘only way round it’.

‘The essence of the cinema will stay the same’

Building between 250-300 student rooms would allow for the right amount of income to sustain the cinema which will be moved into the basement.

And in plans seen by Metro, the essence of the entertainment venue will still at the forefront of the design.

Tyrone said: ‘The outside with the large white lettering announcing showings will still be there, the foyer to buy popcorn will still be at the front of the building and the bright lighting will still be on.

‘Trust me, it will obviously still be a cinema.’

The new plans would see a four-screen (down from five) 447-seat cinema.

But instead, student accommodation for the nearby Queen Mary University will be built on top of the cinema up to eight floors above.

And housing regulations means they can build up to 300 bedrooms rather than up to 80 regular flats – ensuring enough capital will be brought in to save the cinema.

So why has Tower Hamlets said no?

Fool proof plan right? Well, the council don’t seem to think so.

Last week they voted to refuse the plans, with planning officers saying the demolition would mean the ‘loss of an important cultural venue with extensive cinematic and entertainment heritage’.

They also said the size of the proposed development would have a detrimental impact on neighbors, and didn’t provide enough affordable housing.

Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury said at the time: ‘This development would result in a significant loss of heritage and community value and local amenity and constitutes overdevelopment of the site.

‘The land is valuable and should be used responsibly, particularly at a time when there is an acute shortage of housing.’

But Tyrone said the community is now looking at saying goodbye to the cinema unless a decent alternative is offered or his solution is accepted.

‘We have explored every possible way,’ he said. ‘We have looked at mini golf and installing a bowling alley, but they won’t be enough to ensure the cinema can stay.’

Tower Hamlets said: ‘The committee agreed with the officer’s recommendation to refuse the application.

‘The design and scale would harm the setting of adjacent listed buildings, harm the character and appearance of the conservation area and affect the amenity of adjacent residential properties.’

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