The former Regal Cinema, an iconic art-deco building which shut in the 1960s, will be redeveloped into a building with a cafe, flats, and two cinema screens, reports Marco Marcelline

An illustration showing how the new cinema and building will look like, Credit: Mammoth Capital

Councillors have approved plans to turn a former art-deco cinema in Highams Park into a mixed use building containing a two-screen cinema, cafe bar, and housing.

Closed since the 1960s, the former Regal Cinema on Hale End Road will be transformed into a part two, part six storey building containing 33 one and two-bed flats.

Mammoth Capital who own the site plan to “retain” and “restore” the Hale End Road building’s historical art-deco front facade.

The building opened in 1911 as the Highams Park Electric Theatre and was renamed The Regal Cinema in 1935 when it was partially rebuilt with an art-deco style facade, a new entrance foyer, and a cafe.

The Regal Cinema closed on 11th September 1963 and has since been used as a bingo hall, snooker hall, bar and nightclub before it was left vacant in 2015.

Planning permission for the Regal Cinema redevelopment was first granted in 2018, on the condition that the cinema must be open before the final eight flats were sold. This condition was reduced to five flats by Waltham Forest’s planning committee in 2020.

In December 2022, Mammoth held a public exhibition attended by over 200 residents. Since then, the developer has updated the detail of its proposal to ensure compliance with construction regulations and design standards, and to make sure it meets the requirements of a range of potential cinema operators.

According to the council, there is a “range of interest” from cinema operators in the plans to redevelop The Regal. Mammoth Capital will be responsible for marketing the space and agreeing the lease with a cinema operator.

Two cinema screens would provide 80–90 seats each, and would be located in the eastern section of the building. The cinema is currently projected to be open between 8am to midnight every day including bank holidays. The ancillary café would be open from 10am to 11pm every day, also including bank holidays.

The primary entrance to the cinema will be through the original art deco frontage and original entrance, leading into the foyer area while the café will be situated in the northern section of the ground floor.

The site will be car-free, and residents (except blue badge holders) will not be entitled to parking permits for any controlled parking zones (CPZs).

Councillors approved the plan on the condition that only 17 flats are sold before the cinema’s shell and core has been completed. Additionally, no more than 84.84% (28 flats) of the residential units can be occupied before the cinema is first brought into use, unless otherwise agreed in writing with the council.

Following the committee’s decision to approve the cinema plans on 16th July, councillor Ahsan Khan, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing said: “This is an exciting step in the journey to reinvigorate a much cherished but neglected historical cinema that all residents can benefit from, alongside a café and new homes.

“I know Highams Park residents have been waiting a long time for the site to come forward and it’s finally happening with help from the council. The 33 new homes will contribute towards our ambitious plans to create 27,000 new homes alongside the vital infrastructure that Waltham Forest needs, in line with our Local Plan that was adopted earlier this year.”

The move comes after news that a fresh cinema operator plans to re-open the Walthamstow Empire this summer.

Speaking exclusively to the Echo in June, James Jervis, director of PDJ Cinemas, said his team had yet to confirm an exact date and stressed that the current projection could be subject to change “depending on deliveries and technical details”.

Once open, Forest Cinemas, will include entirely upgraded screens and an all new projection and surround sound system.

Meanwhile, the Empire’s former upstairs VIP lounge area will be turned into an Alfred Hitchcock themed-bar that will be accessible by lift.

When the Empire was shut down in July 2023, due to operating challenges and Covid-related declines in income, the borough was left without a cinema and all 27 employees were made redundant.

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