Façade of old cinema to be saved years after it burnt down
A FORMER Birmingham cinema which has been closed for more than a decade is set to be reborn as a new £5 million mixed-use development.
The Kingsway building, in Kings Heath High Street, was built in the 1920s but it closed in 2007 and was largely destroyed by a fire four years later.
After being bought at auction two years ago, developers are now finalising plans for the future of the building. A joint venture development team has been formed by Birmingham-based duo Nestings Group and Redleaf to carry out the regeneration.
The plan is to demolish the fire-damaged building but retain the striking, Grade A locally listed façade and build a new complex, possibly reaching up to six storeys.
Nirmal Vora, a director of Nestings Group which specialises in healthcare projects, said the final plans would be dictated by the consultation it is holding with the community in coming weeks.
He said: “We are looking to celebrate what was there and to salvage as much of the building as we safely can. We will keep the façade and as much of that core block as possible. We want to do something we are proud of and the community wants so we’re speaking to the business improvement district, local pubs and the people of Kings Heath to find out what they would like to see.
“There is definitely requirement for a food outlet, residential accommodation of around 30 or so flats and community amenity space and we would really like to create a plaza with some greenery so the building meets the street.”
Mr Vora added: “It would be lovely to put a cinema back in there. The question is whether there is an audience for it and an operator who would run it. It’s a small building and we’re talking to independent cinemas in Birmingham to see if this is a viable option as we are not cinema operators. If there was a will for it and the public wanted it, then I would absolutely love to do that.”
The existing building was designed as a cinema in 1925 by Horace G Bradley who was responsible for several picture houses in Birmingham including the former Royalty Cinema in Harborne which itself was the victim of a fire last year.
The Kingsway closed in 1980 as a cinema and reopened as a bingo hall a few years later, continuing until 2007 since when it has been vacant.
The building is considered to be one of the few local examples of Bradley’s work in the city which is mostly in its original form but the 2011 fire destroyed 80 per cent of the fixtures, fittings and structure.
Demolition is due to start by the end of January and is expected to take eight weeks to complete.
The first consultation event takes place at the Hare & Hounds pub in High Street, Kings Heath, from 7pm on Tuesday February 6.