I think there is a genuine public interest in understanding the nature of any concerns raised by Lewisham Council. Would the Forest Hill Society be able to find out from their contacts?[/font]

I think the circle (or balcony) cannot be removed.

Cannot because if it was the building would fall down? Or cannot because English Heritage or LBL would not allow it on aesthetic grounds?

I think English Heritage trumps LBL.

Just because a building is listed does not mean that English Heritage will not allow any changes to it.

It just means that a Listed Building Consent application needs to be submitted, justifying the proposals in a holistic way, taking into account existing historical significance, aesthetics, social and economic viability.

IMO English Heritage would be open to the return of the building to its original use (i.e. cinema) and that there is justification for some loss of historical fabric (e.g. the balcony) if it were deemed absolutely necessary.

This post was last modified: 12-10-2014 02:18 PM by Renzon.

I'm sure Lewisham planners / Lewisham conservation dept. and the relevant stat. bodies would not be silly enough to block a reasonable proposal to convert the building into a cinema.

SO...they just need to get on with it!

maybe we should try to communicate to the Council that there's real appetite for a cinema here.

does any of you know who we should get in touch with to organise a petition or something that would actually have an impact on the Council's/EH's decision?

Your ward councillors

And I'll be right back with fears of white elephant and eventual amenity loss.

I don't think Lewisham or EH have actually blocked the change to a cinema but the two potential chains found that their conditions made their proposals not financially viable.

I suspect little could be done without knowing exactly what changes were required to make it viable and then applying pressure to allow them to happen.

If it is correct that two cinema chains have submitted applications and backed off due to planning officer and EH requirements, then matters did not get as far as a formal planning application as far as I can see.

It is not a completely free process to put in a major application, and I would guess that a corporation would back off it seemed likely that there would be difficult conditions.

There is clearly an element of 'democratic deficit' here. The fate of this building one way or another is clearly a legitimate matter of local concern. The majority of local residents might well come to a different view on the balance of conservation and current use factors than the planning officers'.

Perhaps the answer is a proper formal local consultation on the future of this building which should cover all issues, including the balance of existing and future use against preservation.

Well said David!

What's the next step to getting this matter to the Council's attention?

I'd probably start by talking to Councillors, and then getting the matter put on the agenda for one of the Ward fora. If you can build up a bit of momentum there, you might get something to happen.

The 'I' in the above is a bit inaccurate, as I have retired from public life, but perhaps the FH Society might be interested in doing this.

One slight problem may be Local Authority resources to manage this sort of thing in the present climate.

From what I understand from these posts, it looks like two cinema chains were looking into converting the Capitol back into the cinema, but that there were likely to be planning conditions imposed which made the project unfeasible.

The local community want a cinema; the cinemal chains want a viable business premises, so it might be an idea to get together with one of the cinema chains and discuss what requirements they need so that We (as a community) are better informed when we lobby the Council to give assurances which will minimise these risks.

For those who don't think a cinema is needed or will survive, remind us, how many cinemas are there in the borough?
If this goes ahead in Forest Hill, people will park in Sainsbury's.

There used to be cinemas, but they all closed as no-one was using them.
What type of films is it that people will go to see in sufficient numbers to keep this large building paying the rent?

Yes, they closed, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't survive now! Cinemas do now do a thriving trade and yes, any cinema that wants to survive has to show the blockbusters but that doesn't mean there can't be a decent arthouse offering too - one subsidises the ability to show the other - Picturehouse Cinemas seem to manage it and are expanding their portfolio (although I accept that they are now part of a bigger group company).

There is no reason why a cinema in Forest Hill can't survive. I know I'd use it. Whether it could survive in that particular building given the listed Building constraints is another question entirely. Multi screen cinemas can and do exist in listed buildings but I suspect those buidlings were more easily modifiable and perhaps did not have the same number of remaining existing features that merited listing.

I must admit, I find the 'borough' thing quite an odd argument. It's not a council-provided service, and the last time I looked, transport across borough boundaries did not require identification documents, driving on the other side of the road, or changes of train. Almost everyone in SE23 lives within 20 minutes' walk of another borough, many of two, and the various cinemas that SE23 residents use currently would continue to be most convenient for most even were a cinema to open in, say, Grove Park, thereby ticking the borough box. Likewise, a cinema at the Capitol is probably not going to have the residents of Lee Green jumping for joy.
Yes, this is compensated for by the people from the nearby bits of Southwark, etc, but that just underlines what a red herring the borough argument is.
I remain of the opinion that a cinema in the Capitol would quickly become a white elephant, even if it showed the perfect mix of whatever dismal superhero nonsense passes for mass-market entertainment these days and interesting Iranian coming-of-age dramas about stoats. I may be wrong about that. But I wouldn't risk any of my money finding out.

Yes Baboonery I agree. There cinemas of all denominations nearby and I feel no sadness in the fact that Lewisham lost all of its own to indifference. I would like to say I recall some of them fondly but in my memory the one in Catford which lingered until quite recently was a flea pit of the rankest kind but time may be playing tricks on my memory.

What's changed? I'm sure the FH ABC showed the blockbusters of the time

I think I'm with Baboonery on this, but I'm happy to be convinced otherwise.