The Metropolis

Campaigners hope to save one of London’s finest cinemas. With Alfred Hitchcock's help

Darryl Chamberlain | Sunday 3 October, 2010 19:37

Paul Lindt photo

Think of Walthamstow and you might think of a dodgy 1990s boy band, the old dog track or its huge street market. But campaigners are hoping E17 will become just as well known as the home of one of London’s finest cinemas.

The old EMD cinema in Hoe Street has lain empty for seven years. The present building opened in 1930 as London’s first Granada cinema, although films had been shown on the site in 1896—reputedly influencing local lad Alfred Hitchcock, born down the road in Leytonstone.

The Beatles and the Rolling Stones played there, and its Art Deco interior means the EMD is a listed building.

Standing in the way of the cinema reopening is the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which bought—and closed—the cinema in 2003 and plans to turn it into a religious centre.

Campaigners are adamant the EMD has a future showing films —despite the church’s plans for it. They’ve spent years putting pressure on the council —Waltham Forest is one of just two London boroughs without a cinema, meaning locals have to travel to Woodford or Stratford to get a film fix.

Councillors have already turned down one application from the church, and the government threw out its appeal.

A report commissioned by the council says a revived cinema could transform Walthamstow’s fortunes—and outlines a number of ways it could be done, including turning the EMD into a luxurious venue where people could watch films over dinner, or keeping it as a venue capable of hosting films and live music, as it was in its heyday.

“The EMD has the potential to be a beacon for arts and culture in this part of London and would do more for the area’s regeneration than any other project,” says Bill Hodgson of the McGuffin Film Society, which hosted screenings at the EMD before its closure.

“It is no exaggeration to say that Walthamstow’s future is inextricably linked with the fate of the EMD.”

The cost? At least £1.4 million will need to be found to purchase the building before any work is done inside. After meeting local MP Stella Creasy, the Heritage Lottery Fund says it is happy to contribute up to £5 million to the project.

But the church still has designs on the building, and Waltham Forest is due to decide on another planning application soon.

Other London venues have already become churches. Finsbury Park’s Rainbow Theatre – a legendary rock venue of the 1970s—is also owned by the church. So is the old ABC in Catford—Lewisham is the other London borough without a cinema. In Woolwich, what was once an Odeon now gleams as the New Wine Church.
But earlier this year, Kingsway International Christian Centre was refused permission to turn an old cinema in Crystal Palace into a church.

Campaigners are hoping for a similar decision from Waltham Forest, which will now have to take its own report into consideration.

Last month, 800 people gathered next door to the cinema for a one-day festival to mark its 80th birthday, unveiling a sculpture of Alfred Hitchcock.

They’ll be hoping future parties will be held inside the old building – perhaps with Hitchcock’s name above the door.

More info on the campaign: www.mcguffin.org.uk/

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