At a packed and lively meeting Waltham Forest councilors unanimously backed a recommendation from planning officers to reject an application from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) to convert the historic EMD cinema into a place of worship.
An estimated 800 people turned up to watch the decision-making process which the council had moved from a committee room to the much larger Assembly Hall. Half the available seats were reserved for UCKG supporters and half for supporters of McGuffin which has campaigned for the building to be restored as a cinema and public entertainment venue. About 200 people were left outside and their chanting could be heard inside the chamber at points during the meeting.
The UCKG, which bought the building in 2003 is now expected to appeal the decision. Meanwhile the newly formed Waltham Forest Cinema Trust (see separate story) which wants to bring the building back to its former use will try to start negotiations to buy the EMD building but this won’t succeed if the UCKG is not prepared to negotiate.
Walthamstow MP, Stella Creasy, welcomed the news and called for urgent action to be taken by English Heritage and the government to support moves to restore the cinema. She pledged to continue to support the Cinema Trust and to lobby the secretary of state to reject any appeal by the UCKG of the local authority decision.
She said: “The UCKG’s proposal to turn the EMD Cinema into a church has now been rejected twice, demonstrating the clear and settled will of the residents of Walthamstow that they wish to see this building restored as a cinema. But I am all too aware that we’ve been here before, and it would be a travesty if the current owners of the site were now able to continue holding on to a precious piece of Walthamstow’s heritage and allow it to deteriorate further without consequences.
She said she would be writing to English Heritage and seeking a debate in Parliament on the matter to hold ministers to account for their actions.
