Hither Green Hall

Despite its stated ambition to be the best place to live, work and study Lewisham has been lacking a cinema for many years now, and the Council’s plan for one as part of the Lewisham Gateway development has unfortunately been severely disrupted by the property market crash.

An alternative opportunity for a cinema at the heart of our Borough will nevertheless soon present itself in the shape of the site currently occupied by the Ladywell Leisure Centre.
The centre is due to be replaced in 2013 by the new Leisure Centre that’s currently being built at the nearby Loamit Vale and when that opens the land of the old pool will be available for redevelopement and a specific use has not yet been identified.
The Council is now consulting with residents about the town centre developments, and this consultation includes among others this specific site.

This is an opportunity Lewisham must not miss. If this crucial site would end up as residential (an option suggested by the consultation) it would be an unforgivable missed opportunity.

We believe that this is the best site for a cinema for Lewisham and we ask for your support to our initiative for the reasons listed here below.

Strategic location for accessibility

The site is easily accessible by most Lewisham residents. It is in walking distance of many living in Lewisham, Catford, Lee, Hither Green, Rushey Green or Brockley and is very well served by buses coming from all directions.
For these reasons a cinema there rather than at the Gateway development would result in much less traffic congestion for the Borough’s road network.
It also has its own car park that would be easy to retain as part of a redevelopment of the site, even if underground and built upon.

Strategic location for business

A cinema there rather than at the Lewisham Gateway would suffer less from the competition of the nearest existing cinema at Greenwich and because of its location halfway between Lewisham and Catford it will draw visitors from a larger pool of usage to sustein it as a business for the long term. This is a much more attractive option for interested cinema operators than the Gateway site.

Size matters

With a front pavement the size of a piazza, a large unused garden hidden to one side and the car park at the back the site has a very large footfall indeed and is capable of hosting a truly substantial multiplex cinema as well as other components like housing and retail besides.
There aren’t other sites so centrally located that offer such space, and cinemas need space.

Available soon

The Ladywell Pool site has a certain date for availability, that’s 2013.
On the other hand the Lewisham Gateway development has no foreseeable date to start works on site and its realization is dependant from either a recovery in the housing market or a substantial rethink of the project that would mean further delays. Besides, since the project involves the replacement of the Lewisham roundabout with a different road layout the complexity of the works is such that they are expected to last for 6 years.
This means that in any case a cinema there would only be built in many years from now and at a date that is completely uncertain.
The proximity and certainty of the date of availability of the Ladywell Pool is a great advantage. A cinema could be opening there as early as 2015.

A living building for the area

The site is currently occupied by a ‘living’ building, a community asset that’s a destination for scores of people throughout the day, seven days a week. This has a noticeable effect on the nature of that stretch of Lewisham High Street, especially from the point of view of safety.
Ideally a replacement for the Ladywell Leisure Centre would retain that nature. The people of Lewisham already have the habit to go there for leisure purposes, and this is another consideration that’s relevant to the ambition to keep it in that type of use.

Strenghtening both Lewisham and Catford

Lewisham and Catford town centres are very near, in fact they are the two town centres that in the whole of London are closest to each other. They are also connected through an important road with exceptionally wide pavements that has the potential to become a very attractive promenade integrating the two town centres, but to succesfully grow in that direction it needs more high profile destinations. A cinema would be a perfect establishment to make that area grow and be of benefit to both Lewisham and Catford town centres.

For these reasons please respond to the planning consultation on Lewisham town centre developments stating that the Ladywell Leisure Centre site should be used a s a cinema.

http://lewisham-consult.limehouse.co.uk/portal/planning_policy/ltc_further_options

You can also contact your local Councillor or even the Mayor to let them know you support this plan and that you’d appreciate their support for it at Council.
You can do so by email, telephone or in person by visiting one of their regular surgeries.
Details of your local representatives can be found here:

http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/CouncilAndDemocracy/ElectedRepresentatives/Councillors/

And please add your name to our petition:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/a-cinema-for-lewisham.html

Please forward this appeal to as many of your local contacts as you can.

Let’s make Lewisham the best place to live, work and study by providing it with a cinema soon and in the best location.