I wrote recently about how pleased I was that Ealing’s cinema was finally on its way after many twists and turns in the tale. I took another look at the site this week and am looking forward to ‘breaking the ground’ on the project with the council’s development partner St George in the next couple of weeks. Watch this space.

The site has been derelict since 2008 but finally, after a torturous journey, we can get construction under way.

I’ve been looking carefully at what’s been happening on the site over recent months and preparations have been made so we can break the ground and get things under way.

It really is happening: A wonderful cinema is going to rise out of the ground.

I’m pushing St George to complete the cinema by the end of 2018 – or early 2019 at the latest. It will be a day of rejoicing when things get started and I’m pleased I now won’t have to carry out my pledge to go on the site and build it brick by brick myself.

Going back before we go forward…

To recap, we have had a long battle to get our cinema back and there have been many false dawns and twists in the road.

The previous cinema owner left us with a derelict site and the financial crash meant it ended up in the hands of the Irish government, then a private debt company and, finally and frustratingly, sold right back to the original owner again.

So, the council served a compulsory purchase order on the site and wider area in July 2014 and this was confirmed by the Secretary of State in autumn 2015. This put the cinema in the hands of the council’s developer partner Land Securities; before the final twist in the tale of Land Securities selling on to St George this summer.