Mark Kermode says it is 'seriously good news for film fans in west London'

Acton Old Library

The efforts by the Acton Arts Project to build a cinema on the High Street have moved a step closer with Ealing Council approving the plans submitted.

After three years of work the group can now proceed to outlining their business plan to the council, agreeing the terms of the lease and the timeline for construction.

Over £115,000 has been raised to support the project but more will be needed to bring it to completion so now the project will be looking to heritage and arts funding bodies for the necessary finance.

The announcement was made along with the release of a video featuring film critic Mark Kermode, a long-time supporter of the campaign who says the development is ‘seriously good news for film fans in west London’.

The plans approved are for a two-screen cinema and cafe-bar which aims to save the classic Grade Two-listed Old Library building and kick-start a regeneration of the High Street.

Nearly £30,000 has been spent so far for a team of surveyors, cinema designers, architects, acoustics experts and heritage advisors to come up with the plan, which also makes provision for a much-needed school on the upper floors for children with a diagnosis of autism.

In the statement announcing their success the Acton Arts Project says, “The big challenge now is navigating the course of Covid. The pandemic has severely restricted arts venues. The cinema's financial backers and the Council see it as a long-term winner. But between them they have to find ways of seeing a big investment through the restrictions period without unsustainable losses.”

September 9, 2020