It’s not a good time to be a lover of the arts in Birmingham. The city’s council announced earlier this year that it was running out of money and would have to cut arts funding to zero, news which was met with outrage and disappointment from many B-ham citizens.
It’s not all been bad though – today we have a little bit of good news, as developers have revealed tentative plans for the future of the old Electric Cinema. The cinema was an iconic landmark on Station Street until its closure in March of this year. It had been operating as a cinema for more than 100 years, so people are pretty attached to it. Needless to say, whatever comes next will need to be good.
Now, Glenbrook, the company developing the property, has promised to retain the building as some sort of cultural centre. It’s not going to become a chain cinema, it’s assured, but a new façade may be necessary due to the structure's conditions.
They’ve not met with any planning officers yet because they want to, ‘take as much time as we need to get to the right solution’ the BBC reports. Basically, that’s business jargon for ‘it could be a while yet’ before anything happens.
Although there’s no timescale, plans do look promising for those mourning the original cinema. Glenbrook said: ‘We believe it needs to evolve again, to survive and thrive for another century.’
Fingers crossed they do manage to reinvigorate this disused space and return it to its former glory. We’re sure this midlands icon has another century in her yet.
Keeping up with the Brummies
We like to know what's going on the UK's second biggest city.Not too long ago the iconic Crown pub, often referred to as the birthplace of heavy metal, was also given protected status after a lengthy battle from dedicated Brummies to stop the venue bring replaced by luxury flats. Did you also see that its most famous export, Peaky Blinders, is soon returning for a film? If you're visiting Birmingham anytime soon and need plans, try out one of these 27 amazing things to do in Birmingham, before heading to one of the city's best restaurants for a delicious meal.
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