‘Waltham Forest is known around the world as the birthplace of Alfred Hitchcock. The local council however is known around the world as the borough that bulldozed Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s childhood home to make way for a petrol garage.’
As bizarre and unbelievable as this statement may read, it is disgustingly true (see caption below). And, even more unfortunate for the residents of the district, it is currently the only London borough out of 32 not to have a single dedicated cinema space.
The JET petrol garage and car dealership on Leyton high road, where Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s home used to stand
It hasn’t always been doom and gloom for this historic area of London, which, in its day, could claim over six cinemas and numerous production companies in the borough. Fast forward to 2009, however, and you’ll find no such signs of cinematic life, with the dilapidated EMD cinema building on Hoe Street the last remaining mark of any cultural heritage that once existed.
The iconic cinema was one of London’s first ever venues to screen short films, in 1896, and was believed to have been the regular haunt of a young Alfred Hitchcock who lived nearby. As well as shorts, the mixture of live entertainment and films would see the venue in later years play host to musical legends such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who before being remodeled as a three-screen cinema in 1973.
One of the last pictures taken inside the glorious EMD with its Christie theatre organ
But after 116 years as Waltham Forest’s flagship site for arts and entertainment, the building closed its doors to the public when it was purchased by the controversial Brazil-based religious organization known as The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. The church group had wanted to turn the famous EMD site into a help centre, however plans to convert the building were derailed by a successful campaign lead by the McGuffin Film Society, which rallied support from local residents, politicians and celebrities to help save the EMD.
It was believed then that the cinema would make a welcome return to the borough through a compulsory purchase order promised by the local authority, but no such deal was ever made. In fact, the closest the building ever came to being re-sold was three years later in 2006, when the church entered negotiations with cinema companies to sell the building. The deals quickly fell through when news was leaked of a new development from the local authority for an eight-screen multiplex cinema, costing taxpayers £35 million (caption below), just 100 yards away from the EMD site, which was valued by the LDA at under £3 million.
The arcade development, which would cost £35 million, scared off EMD cinema buyers with promises of a new eight-screen multiplex that was never built
In the six years that have passed since the successful defense of the grade two listed cinema, the EMD has stood as the eyesore of Walthamstow, slowly deteriorating despite the fact that the UCKG are legally bound to care for both the interior and exterior of this once great movie palace. Pastor Paul Hill, property manager for the UCKG in the UK, has recently stated that “[the church] has maintained the building and taken care of its structure.” And that the organization will not spend “huge amounts of money on the cosmetic of the building, because It does not make commercial sense.” Unfortunately for the church, two weeks after this statement the front canopy of the building collapsed onto the main high street, further condemning the appalling deterioration of the building while in their hands (see below).
Just a portion of the damage caused by UCKG at the EMD
Most worryingly, in recent months the EMD site has been at the centre of a new approach from the church, who have worked together with the local council to produce a fresh application “designed to get round the cracks” of the planning grounds, which saw their original plans rejected. The new design would see a portion of the building used as a ‘community cinema’ just like similar schemes adopted by the UCKG in Catford, at the former ABC Cinema and at the former Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park.
Residents, however, are skeptical about the validity of these new plans. During their 13-year ownership of the Rainbow Theatre, the UCKG have screened a total of two films. While at the former ABC in Catford, the independent operator has stated that the church “became extremely uncooperative as soon as their planning permission was approved” with the cinema plan eventually scrapped when the operator walked away “in disgust” and with no cinema facilities ever developed for the community.
Despite the untrustworthy nature of the church, it seems that Waltham Forests local authority are quite happy to ignore the majority of the public by pushing through the church’s new plans, therefore putting an end to the last remaining British venue that still retains an original Christie theatre organ. Terry Wheeler, Councilor for Enterprise and Investment in the borough, reinforced this stance when he stated recently that the new church and community centre will be “more attractive, particularly to young people, than a modified cinema”. Understandably, with over 75 places of worship in the borough and not a single cinema, it’s easy to see why the kids of today would rather be flocking to a hip new church on a Friday and Saturday night. I know I would be.
If you would rather show your support to help save one of Britain’s last remaining truly great cinema buildings, obviously at the expense of the youth of today, visit www.mcguffin.info or follow @saveourcinema on Twitter.
