D-Day for Crystal Palace cinema campaigners (From Your Local Guardian)

D-Day for Crystal Palace cinema campaigners

2:50pm Wednesday 16th December 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

Tomorrow evening thousands of Crystal Palace residents will learn if one of the biggest community campaigns in recent memory has made a major breakthrough.

A Bromley planning committee will decide whether to allow a building designated for community use to become a church.

If it follows the advice of Bromley’s planning department, and rejects the application by Kingsway International Christian Centre’s for a change of use for the former Gala Bingo Hall in Church Road, it will keep the dream of thousands of residents alive that the building will instead be turned back into a cinema.

The Picture Palace Campaign has galvanised a community disappointed when the church outbid City Screen, the independent cinema chain behind the Brixton Ritzy and Clapham Picture House, to buy the building in May.

A sustained community campaign has culminated in Bromley Council receiving more than 1,250 letters and emails of objection.

The campaign group state more than 3,500 objections have been made.

Coaches are expected to take some 150 campaigners to the meeting this evening.

• What do you think? Let us know by email here, phone the newsdesk on 020 8330 9555 or leave a comment below.