Clashes at appeal hearing for old Cambridgeshire cinema redevelopment
The future of an “iconic” old cinema building in Cambridge will be made by a planning inspector after a hearing heard arguments to both save and knock down the building.
The future of an “iconic” old cinema building in Cambridge will be made by a planning inspector after a hearing heard arguments to both save and knock down the building.
Cambridge City Council is fighting an appeal launched by a developer to try to redevelop the old cinema at 21 Hobson Street, which it argued would see the loss of an “iconic and rare” building.
However, the developer behind the plans said there was a “pressing need” to do something with the site after years of attempts to find a new use for the building.
The old cinema was last used as a bingo hall, but has sat empty since it closed in 2009.
Plans put forward by SSHS Redevelopment Partners proposed to demolish the old cinema, as well as neighbouring buildings, in order to build a new office block.
A community space was also proposed in the new development, and plans were set out on how Hobson Passage could be refurbished.
The city council refused to grant planning permission for the project last year after councillors said they opposed the complete loss of the old cinema building.
The developer lodged an appeal with the planning inspectorate to try and overturn this decision and a hearing was held this week (September 10) where a planning inspector heard arguments from both sides about the plans.
In its statement to the appeal, the city council said the proposed office building would be an “incongruous and inappropriate form of development”, which it said would “not be well integrated within the existing skyline of Cambridge”.
The authority said the plans would also see the “substantial demolition” of buildings that “contribute to the historic context of development within this part of the conservation area”.
The city council specifically highlighted the loss of the old cinema building at 21 Hobson Street, which it said contributed to the character of the conservation area due to its “iconic and rare architectural style”.
The city council said: “The city council acknowledges the redevelopment opportunities of this vacant site, within this central and sustainable location.
“Whilst the city council acknowledges some of the benefits proposed, especially in terms of the economic benefits presented whereby the city council attaches significant weight to the planning balance, the concerns have been set out by the city council from the beginning of the pre-application process have regrettably not been fully addressed to support the redevelopment of this site in this instance.
“The amount of demolition proposed coupled with the inappropriate form of development in terms of scale and design, and the unjustified loss of the former cinema building within this part of the conservation area, would equate to a high level of less than substantial harm upon the conservation area and surrounding heritage assets, which is not outweighed by the public benefits presented.”
However, the developers argued that the proposed office development was a chance to “breathe fresh life” not just into 21 Hobson Street, but the neighbouring buildings included in the plans.
Mark Richer, owner of the old cinema building, said at the time he purchased the building in 2011 it had a “purpose and a future” and was leased to a nightclub operator who had planned to turn it into a burlesque club.
However, he said these plans fell apart and in the following years he said there had been a “repetitive cycle” of interest being shown in the building, before falling away due to the expense, lack of footfall, and the “despair” at the condition of Hobson’s Passage.
Mr Richer said he had come to the conclusion the building was at a “dead end”, but said a new opportunity emerged to put together a project that included the neighbouring buildings at 16-17 Sidney Street and 18-19 Sidney Street.
He said: “Everyone acknowledges the pressing need to do something on this site, to stop the rot and breathe in fresh life.
“What we have come up with is very much the best solution to all of this, and we are dismayed that we have been forced to make our case on appeal, rather than achieving planning permission from the council, who appear to have set their face firmly against any demolition of the former cinema at 21 Hobson Street, a position we consider to be wholly unjustified.
“We have found that a combined development means that the buildings’ individual challenges fall away (16-17 Sidney Street’s bizarre and tricky floorplate, 18-19 Sidney Street’s small floorplate relative to its height, 21 Hobson Street’s lack of natural daylight, etc.) and their opportunities are maximised, delivering numerous benefits.”
He added that the benefits included the proposed new community space, as well as creating 394 jobs once built.
At the hearing the planning inspector also heard from Sarah Nicholas, principal planning officer at Cambridge Past Present and Future, about the charity’s concerns with the proposed redevelopment of the old cinema.
She said the group supported the principle of bringing the underused site back into use, but said the current proposals were “deeply flawed”
Ms Nicholas said the group “strongly objected” to the loss of the old cinema facade, which she said was a “unique feature in Cambridge’s historic centre”.
She argued the justification for knocking down and rebuilding on the site “appears to be purely commercial”, and suggested that proposing a “modern office building with unique art deco frontage” would have been more “desirable”.
The planning inspector also went through some of the images showing how the proposed development would look from certain areas.
The city council said the height of the office building meant it would not “sit within the townscape” and from some views broke the Cambridge skyline.
However, representatives of the developer argued the new building did not actually break the city’s skyline.
They also said a city centre’s townscape was “often evolving” and claimed the proposals would be “another part of that story as the city evolves”.
The city council highlighted to the inspector the contribution the former cinema made to the conservation due to its “interesting Egyptian themed art deco” , which they said was “quite unusual and unique” in Cambridge.
Representatives of the developer highlighted that the old cinema building was not a listed building and that Historic England had said the building did not meet the criteria for listing.
The city council conservation officer said it may not be a nationally important building, it was still an important building to the city.
The inspector highlighted that comments had been made by members of the public that the old cinema building had been “allowed to fall into a state of disrepair”.
Representatives of the developer highlighted that the building had been empty since it was last used as a bingo hall in 2009.
Since 2011 they said it had also been leased to others for some years, who were then responsible for its upkeep.
The representatives highlighted that they had provided evidence of maintenance and upkeep of the building that had been undertaken by the owner “as far as can be justified”.
Officers from the city council said it was “quite clear that there are visual defects in the facade” and that there were cracks where water had got into the building.
They said a lot of the work mentioned by the appellant was mainly “cleaning and generic sort of upkeep of any building”.
Officers added that it was “quite difficult to accept the building has been maintained to the best of the ability”.
Representatives of the owners hit back and said there was no evidence of “deliberate negligence or damage”.
The inspector is due to now consider the plans and arguments made on both sides before deciding whether the redevelopment can go ahead or not.