The plans for new multi-screen Brighton cinema have made a hasty retreat after the developer made a swift turnaround on the plan to use a historic venue. Campaigners are now celebrating the dismissal of the plans, which aimed to convert the historic Brighton Hippodrome into a multi-screen cinema and shops.
Entertainment company Vue wrote to the Save Our Hippodrome group confirming plans to convert the Grade II listed building were not being pursued by the landlord. Vue’s managing director in the UK and Ireland confirmed the redevelopment would not go ahead, and consequently Vue will not be placing a cinema in the Brighton Hippodrome.
In a huge act of camaraderie, hundreds of people supported rallies organised by the Save Our Hippodrome campaign. The group objected to the planning application approved by Brighton and Hove City Council which would have seen developer Alaska Group, in partnership with Vue, use a historic site to essentially lose the history of the building through a cinema and shop complex. Thousands of people signed a petition against the move due to the belief the building would serve the area better as a theatre.
The news was revealed as the group filmed a campaign video outside the Brighton Hippodrome, however there may be other plans in store for the site after the victory of the Save Our Hippodrome campaign. More than 100 people, including members of the Green, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties, backed the recording, speaking about the campaign’s mission and the historical importance of the building. It is hoped that following the good news that the council will now work with the campaign in order to preserve the site even further.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons