The council has said delays to construction work have been due to ‘challenges of returning’ the Grade II listed venue to its ‘former glory’

The former EMD cinema has been under construction for the past three years.

The much-anticipated Soho Theatre Walthamstow will not open to the public until “2025”, the council has confirmed.

The delay comes amid construction “challenges” experienced by Willmott Dixon, the company leading the renovation works on the former EMD cinema. The £30million theatre had been previously projected to “soft launch” this month, followed by an official public opening in February 2024.

In a statement to the Echo, a spokesperson for the council said that delays to work “have been due to the challenges of returning a much-loved Grade II* listed venue, much of which was unused and derelict for over twenty years, to its former glory”.

The council said that construction work is now due to finish at an unspecified time in “2024”, with the first performances now set to take place in “2025”.

A selection of “soft launch” events including tours, test activities, and performances will be announced next year once building works are “closer to completion”, the council added.

Work on the 970-seat venue began in September 2020 and had initially been earmarked for a March 2023 grand opening before being pushed back to February 2024. The second delay comes as a blow to the council’s vision for Walthamstow to become a “cultural quarter”.

Willmott Dixon did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

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