I am delighted that we will finally have a new cinema in Ealing after more than seven years of waiting.
It is exciting when trailers for new films come out now, because they provoke thoughts of how we could be sitting comfortably in a seat in the new cinema watching a blockbuster relatively soon. Cinema back in Ealing – the home of Ealing Studios and Ealing Comedy classics; it has a nice ring to it.
Work should begin in 2016 on transforming the old cinema site opposite Ealing Town Hall, and land connecting with it, into a two-acre cultural quarter. There will be a new multi-screen cinema at its heart, which should open in 2018. There should also be restaurants, bars, cafes, shops and homes.
Ealing’s town centre has been without a cinema since September 2008 when the old one was closed. Most of the building was demolished in February 2009 and thus has it stood since, with scaffolding holding up all that remains – the art deco façade.
Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I can say a long legal process has ended and this ambitious redevelopment project can get started.
Like a blank screen flickering to life, we can switch this once-vibrant location back on. I for one am looking forward to choosing which films to watch there in 2018.
