Anger over Odeon Cinema demolition

Kensington residents have been up in arms over a recent planning application submitted by Minerva Ltd to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), which entails demolishing a number of iconic Kensington High Street buildings, including the Odeon Kensington cinema.

The specific sites which will be involved in the development work are 257-265 Kensington High Street, as well as 4-10 and 24 Earl’s Court Road, all in the W8 area. Minerva holds the freehold interest in these properties, with prior planning permission granted in December 2012 for c. 100,000 square feet of “private residential accommodation, with a basement car park and cinema”.

The new application, received by the council on the 14th October and publicly viewable on the RBKC council website, describes the proposed work as involving “demolition of the former Post Office delivery office, Whitlock House office building and the cinema building with retention of the cinema facade to Kensington High Street.”

A major development proposal, it states that its purpose is to construct “63 residential units (including affordable housing units) and associated residential facilities, retail/class D1 and office accommodation, car parking spaces, cycle parking [...]public realm improvements and associated works.” It also mentions the “construction of a basement and buildings to provide cinema facilities”, presumably to replace the resulting loss of the Odeon facilities. It is yet to be known however what capacity this new cinema will hold, if it will be open to the public, or who would be in charge of running it.

To date, over 200 objection letters have been received by the council since late October. Common concerns raised in these include proximity to noise and dust for residents near Pembroke Place, the loss of small independent businesses caused by demolishing the W8 portion of Earl’s Court Road, as well as potential hazards arising from congestion due to moving the proposed new underground cinema’s entrance from Kensington High Street to the smaller Earl’s Court Road. Many have also denounced the proposed development as “another faceless, monolithic building” that adds “no cultural value to our High Street”.

Several objection letters also mention that the proposed plans appear to have had the height of the main housing block increased,, which is unfavourable to residents near the Odeon from a privacy standpoint “due to increased noise and light pollution”. Comments on the planning application will close today (14th Nov), with the council aiming to reach a decision by 16th Jan, 2015.

This is not the first time that the Odeon Kensington has been threatened with closure. With its existence dating back to the 1920s, it was initially known as The Kensington, before being renamed the Majestic in 1940.It was known for its then-revolutionary architecture, as its design was a deliberate attempt to move away from the fairground origins of cinema in the day. The Rank Organization, a now-defunct entertainment conglomerate, were responsible for its current name after a takeover in the late 1940s.

The original Art Deco interior of the building, is believed to be no longer intact, which prevents English Heritage from listing the Odeon Kensington for preservation (it currently has a Certificate of Immunity which prevents it from being listed until 2018). However, the Cinema Theatre Association suggests that some of its original features may be hidden by false walls and ceilings.

A firm favourite of the late Michael Winner, the Odeon Kensington appears in the press every now and again as his “designated local cinema”. He was also rumored to have made an arrangement with its management where he donates to charity every year in return for free pick n’ mix on every visit.