Protest outside the EMD Cinema on 18 April 2009.
Waltham Forest Council and the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) have unveiled plans for a new scheme to convert the historic EMD Cinema into a church.
The proposals would see the vast majority of the venue used exclusively as a church while some leftover space in the former Upstairs Circle area of Cinema 1 could be adapted to create a small venue which UCKG claims would eventually be available for community hire at commercial rates. The adjoining carpet shop and Victoria pub would also be closed and converted into UCKG ‘training rooms’ and ‘youth centre’.
Leyton councillor Terry Wheeler is leading the council’s negotiations with UCKG. Meanwhile, UCKG is working with PR company the Remarkable Group to help deliver their plan. The Remarkable Group is well known for its associations with big business interests such as British Airways, GlaxoSmithKline, BMW and Bovis Homes. 
These proposals are a variation of a previous UCKG ‘compromise’ plan which was first presented to the council in the aftermath of the successful Public Inquiry that originally saved the EMD from being converted into a church. The proposals were dismissed by the then council. Waltham Forest Council is now supporting these revised plans despite several successful cinema operators being actively interested in reviving the EMD and warnings from the McGuffin Film Society that this approach has already failed spectacularly elsewhere.
In 2004, UCKG purchased the former ABC Cinema in Catford with the intention of converting it into a church. Despite massive local opposition, Lewisham Council eventually granted planning permission for a similar ‘compromise’ solution during 2005 after UCKG gave assurances that a portion of the building would be used as a ‘community cinema’. An independent cinema operator was engaged to run this ‘community cinema’ at the site while UCKG developed the remaining portion of the building for church use.
The independent cinema operator has since told the McGuffin Film Society that UCKG “became extremely uncooperative as soon as their planning permission was approved” and the cinema plan was eventually scrapped when the operator walked away “in disgust”. The former ABC Cinema reopened as a fully fledged UCKG church in 2006 and no community cinema facilities were ever developed at the site, much to the annoyance of Lewisham Council and local residents.
While the McGuffin Film Society welcomes all genuine efforts to revive the EMD Cinema, we are deeply skeptical about this latest development – especially given the precedent set in Catford. If approved, we are not convinced these current proposals will amount to anything more than Waltham Forest Council sleepwalking into a deal which hands over the EMD Cinema on a plate.
Around 600 local residents brought Walthamstow to a standstill on Saturday 18 April at a protest in support of saving the cinema. 
Background
The EMD Cinema closed in 2003 when it was purchased by the controversial UCKG who intended to convert it for church use. Following a massive local campaign, the government held a Public Inquiry which ruled that the building remained commercially viable as a cinema and should not be converted into a church.
After persistent public pressure, UCKG eventually put the cinema up for sale in 2006 and a number of bidders emerged with substantial offers. However, the sale process was quickly thrown into chaos when news leaked about a council plan to fund a rival multiplex on the empty Arcade site next door. The EMD was immediately taken off the market. The council’s scheme for the Arcade site collapsed earlier this year and is now back on the drawing board with plans for a hotel and swimming pool currently under discussion (see below for more information about the Arcade scheme).
A representative from English Heritage recently visited the EMD and reported the cinema interior remains in “good condition”, despite the building’s shabby external appearance.
For details about the council’s negotiations with UCKG see this PDF document which has been obtained under Freedom of Information rules.
Press Coverage
- The Independent ‘Hitchcock’s old gem’ (19/04/09)
- BBC News ‘Fight to save Hitchcock cinema’ (19/04/09)
- The Telegraph ‘Tony Robinson campaigns to save cinema…’ (20/04/09)
- The Standard ‘Stars join protest to save cinema’ (17/04/09)
- The London Paper ‘Actors Tony Robinson and Meera Syal join campaign…’ (18/04/09)
- Waltham Forest Guardian ‘Hundreds campaign to save EMD’ (20/04/09)
- Yellow Advertiser ‘Cinema Protest’ (23/04/09).
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8098857.stm (13/06/09)
Background Documents
- For a full summary of the EMD story so far see the PDF of a magazine article from 2008 here
- See the church’s plans for the cinema conversion on their website.
- The pre-planning application proposal document drawn up by UCKG in association with Waltham Forest Council can be found as a Word document here .
- For the Government’s original Public Inquiry conclusions about the EMD see this PDF document here.
International Press Coverage
- La Stampa ‘Salvate il cinema di Hitchcock’ (20/04/09)
- Loudvision ‘Salviamo il cinema di Hitchcock’ (20/04/09)
- BBC Brasil ‘Moradores protestam para salvar cinema comprado por Igreja Universal em Londres’ (19/04/09)
For details about UCKG’s antics in Catford see the links below.
- UCKG’s Catford HelpCentre to open
- News Shopper Online ‘Mayor outraged at cinema plan’ (04/10/05)
- News Shopper ‘Church makes its second bid for ex-cinema’ (28/04/04)
- UCKG pres release ‘Rocking in the Aisles at Catford’ (14/08/07)
- News Shopper ‘Opening of Church in Catford’ (23/08/07)
More than 100 local schoolchildren took part in their own demo on Saturday 13 June.
A short trailer for the new documentary ‘Save Our Screen’ and a recent ITV news report can be found below.
1 Comment
April 21, 2009 at 3:31 pm
[...] OTHER REPORTS ON THE PROTEST McGuffins organised the vigil and took pictures on the night [...]