from: Maurice Benson
re: local cinema/theatre/dance/music complex 24 October 2001

To the Editor,

As a resident I am dismayed about this riverside proposal; as a retired film exhibitor I am greatly puzzled.

I agree with Cllr Whittall that such suggestions as the Casino are inappropriate and one hopes they are "pure invention" as he says. I heard this from a fellow called Mr Day who was present at one of the public consultation meetings and said he represented the developers. A group of us were talking after the meeting and we asked him what they would do if the cinema failed, he said they would give it a fair "crack of the whip" and if it didn't work they would look at other options like a Casino and gaming complex. I didn't take this terribly seriously until I heard what was happening to Blackpool as a result of the new gaming legislation. So although Cllr Whittall might not have heard this before, it has certainly been mentioned at the meetings.

I understood there was a proposed Multiscreen cinema to go between Isleworth and Hounslow. It was not very long ago that there were two cinemas in Hounslow which both went out of business for lack of customers. The Multiscreen cinema development in Kingston is underway now and it is huge, and the one in Feltham has been operating for about six years. Both have large parking areas. I think it is a big commercial risk to add even more cinema seats to this area at the moment particularly when there is ZERO parking for patrons on the riverside and limited public transport. Maybe you know more that I do about future plans for parking in Twickenham, Cllr Whittall.

Of course the other worry, which I wrote in my letter to Twickenham Online last May is that Mr Hancock might have been using the term "Arts Cinema" in a euphemistic way meaning an "Adult Cinema" because a triple pure "Arts Cinema" certainly will not be viable.

Should we not ensure that the developer, and the Richmond Council Planning committee, are specifically prevented from allowing either of these options to go ahead when the commercial cinema fails? How do we actually do that?

Maurice Benson