HITHER GREEN: Fun day to boost new cinema bid (From News Shopper)

HITHER GREEN: Fun day to boost new cinema bid

3:41pm Thursday 8th October 2009 in Search By Dan Keel

A CAMPAIGN group is holding a fun day to help rally support for a new cinema.

The Hither Green Hall group is hosting the event on October 18 as part of its Save The Cinema campaign.

It wants the 96-year-old derelict Hither Green cinema building in Hither Green Lane to be revamped and turned into an arts and community centre with a film screen.

Campaign group chairman Louisa Duggan said: "We are hoping to highlight the desperate need for a cinema and arts space within this area.

"Lewisham is one of only two boroughs in London without a cinema and we really believe if the building could be saved it would help the area improve and become a thriving community."

The day will start at 10am with drama workshops designed for children. The afternoon will feature film screenings including the classic musical My Fair Lady, the silent film Balloonatic and the 1950s post-war drama Pool of London.

The drama workshops will be run free of charge while film screenings cost £5 for adults and £3 for concessions.

In August the campaign group won a battle with developer Agenda 21 Architects Ltd to stop it building nine residential flats and a commercial unit on the site.

Lewisham councillors refused the planning application on the grounds it would not be in keeping with the surrounding area.

The council received 49 letters of objection against the proposed development while the Hither Green Hall group collected 500 signatures opposing the building plans.

Waltham Forest is the only other London borough which does not have a cinema.

For more information on the fun day or to book a ticket in advance, call 07956 614007 or email contact@hithergreenhall.org For the latest cinema listings in your area, visit newsshopper.co.uk/leisure/cinema