Fresh proposals drawn up for Urmston cinema conversion

Wouldn’t it be better as a…. cinema?

Well it won’t make a suitable Lidl – not after the debacle in Wavertree………….

There is no parking around there and would be difficult to compete with nearby Trafford Centre cinema.

Excellent use of an iconic building

This will hopefully bring the communty togather in these difficult times what a wonderful idear ….

Looks like a great use for an attractive building, I hope it can be delivered.

Excited to see the Curzon come back to life

It’s not a theatre, it’s a church

Would be nice to see more branches of Curzon up north.

Parking ?

Brilliant idea perhaps it could incorporate youth clubs for teens and activities which the area is short of.

I fundamentally oppose any development of any religous aspect as i dont think religon of any type brings an area together. I would love to see this iconic building become a theatre and event space. That all being said this could offer a compromise.

So it’ll be a church

This will be amazing for local businesses 🙂

It’s a fantastic idea. I went there a couple of times a week as a child a lot of happy memories.

I think we need a youth club for the kids get them off the streets and stop them getting into trouble that’s what we are missing round here, I would even help out with it the kids needs somewhere to go

We personally don’t think this is the best use of a beautiful building- essentially a church with some community spaces?? There is already a huge parking problem around this area . Has this been addressed?

Exciting times This building deserves a second chance

A place for teenagers to hang out would be good – with pool and table tennis tables, possibly some boxing coaching etc.

Brilliant! A community hub for our area is just a fantastic idea of a much loved building to remain in this area for all to enjoy.

This looks like a well-needed development in keeping with the character of the area

Nice idea. It would be great for Urmston to have it’s own theatre and also ro be used for various other community groups.

I live only a few hundred yards from this Iconic building. I haven’t had any consultation regarding its development. I am pleased that the new proposals are going forward.

For such a beutiful building why can’t it be made back into its original use. My grandson always said if he had enough money he would buy it and turn it back into what cinemas used to be like, with ice cream in the interval. I’m sure family’s of Urmston and surrounding areas would love to take there children.

Sounds great, cafe always popular and ‘out of Urmston’ activities a big bonus – yoga or exercise classes, especially for retired/less mobile people, knitting, crochet or sewing groups, activities for toddlers and young mums, advice or info sessions – personally I’d love tai chi and or art classes 😊

Brilliant… such an iconic building should definitely be brought back to its former glory.. great news

Bringing the building back into function in any manner will be a great improvement to the rundown image it currently has.

This is going to be an Evangelical church
I was speaking to a member of the church only last week

I’m just making sure it’s not flats TBH. Why not make it back to what it used to be?

What wonderful plans. A theatre/auditorium sounds amazing
I loved visiting the cinema as a girl so looking forward to stepping.foot in there again. Could the Asoldo Stretford have the same refurb?

A brilliant idea. It would benefit local people with alsorts events, young and older people. Good luck

Excellent! Planning department….please,please approve this fantastic submission for the good of the community 👍🙂

A good use of a treasured piece of many of our histories

The people complaining it’s a church… what have you contributed to society or the community ever? Fantastic use of space and great that it’s not turned into monotone flats!

@ April 23, 2024 at 10:14 am
By Anonymous

Good point! This is an imaginative scheme, sensitive to the heritage of the building. And been an evangelical church, it’ll probably actually be full on Sundays.

I personally think this is a great initiative for the community, someone is actually trying to do something great to uplift that area, whether it be church or not, the church may be a part of it but it contributes valuably to society, and it will be great if all the incentives they mentioned come through! So I say well done to them! Looking forward to seeing it!

Taking a classic building with local history and turning into a community hub for a community which is apparently on a bit of a low.
What isn’t there to like about this scheme? It’s possibly the best outcome.
The idea of turning it back into an old school cinema sounds lovely but that chances are ost of you won’t be there every weekend. So why suggest you will be? Because that’s what it would need to be financially viable.

CRC – this version originates in South Africa although there are others with similar names – is absolutely not about creating a venue and asset for the whole Urmston community. However slick its website and PR is, it’s a fundamentalist church with deeply regressive social views – it specifically excludes LGBT+ people for example – is big on members submitting to the authority of its leaders, so much of the local community will be entirely unwelcome there. And purely from a planning point of view, this sort of church draws in members from a wide area, so parking is often a nightmare.

A great idea and scheme for the benefit of the local community. Urmston and other nearby areas will benefit by changing the old cinema into an asset for the whole community. 👍👍👍👍👍

I personally think this is a great initiative, for the community. Regardless of whether it’s a church or not it’s going to add value with the other things they are proposing rather than having the building sit there as an eye sore, at least someone is trying to put it to good use. So good on them and I look forward to seeing it when they are done with it.

This is great

Looks a great scheme, and could be a fantastic asset for Urmston and the wider area. Great to see the building restored and put back into good use. A much better solution than the previous scheme (as flats), fingers crossed this one comes to fruition.

That’s a great idea I live Stratford but old people and young people can go there and people will rent space in the building I am grateful that it’s not going as flat . I hope you get the go ahead with it well done some one looking after people and not money all the time

I’m not religious, I don’t fear or discriminate against those who are. Preserving the building is paramount. The plans provide numerous possibilities for use outside of Church activities, and without safeguarding the building the status quo remains (Who wouldn’t be cool enough to perform on the stage where others may in time..)

Excellent news, best of luck with the project!

Excellent plans and the residents will benefit from a local community hub where we can meet for coffee and meet other residents .

Just reopen it as a cinema. It’s not been the same since the curzon closed

A church? In an increasingly secular society, is there really any call for this?

Anyone would think the bulk of the comments on here were from regular PNW readers and not just church members posting because someone in charge there said to. They do know any representations have to go to Trafford Planning with their names and contact details on, dont they?

I used to take my Son to that cinema when he was younger he loved the way the movie paused halfway for Ice cream. He’s nearly 30 now and still remembers going to that Cinema and we also went to the sports centre where he did Karate lessons and learnt to swim there. It’s such a sad loss for Urmston to lose the Cinema and the building should be used to benefit the locals and nobody else.

What a good idea we would all love a proper dedicated place to be entertained locally

My local Cinema as a child and it later put on Musicals for the local Amateur Theatrical Society! Happy Memories!

This can only exacerbate the already serious parking problems on the surrounding roads with the attendant danger to pedestrians and other road users.

I am so pleased that the plans to turn the Curzon into Appartments have been dropped and a Community centre for Urmston and locally resident has been approved This is so much needed and I look forward to these plans

It looks amazing! It could be both a cinema and a church.!
Looking forward to having a coffee there! Hope it all works out as the building itself is in a very poor state of repair.

I live balfour Road right behind the curzon, and I am very much against this. Its going to cause a lot of problems for me and other local residents.

Nice images, but I’d like to see some of great and talented small architecture practices get a chance here in the city, and not a London firm who, by all regards are talented too but surely local knowledge here can help?

Would make a nice Wetherspoons to replace the current lushes dump on Flixton rd.

What else could bring back life to a dead place than the church! The place where God is welcome and honoured.
Congratulationsssss CRC Manchester

This is nonsense. There comes a time when any building, however attractive/iconic it is has outlived its purpose. This is the case here. The whole thing should be pulled down, along with the (now fairly ramshackle) shops on the same site. The site should then be used for affordable housing – Trafford Council are always banging on about their commitment to provide ‘social housing’ – here’s a chance for them to fulfil that commitment.

There are other local buildings which could qualify as ;iconic’. The swimming pool on the adjacent site would be a good example – that went thirty years ago. Brook Road Library is a prime example, but it was a library and wasn’t suited to any other purpose – so it went.

FWIW, I used the Curzon, the swimming pool and Brook Road Library om a daily/weekly basis for the whole of my growing-up years. It’s a shame to see them go, but, hey, it’s a cruel, hard world…

“The plan is to breathe new life into the building, which ceased being a cinema in 2008 and has been vacant for several years.”

The building has NOT been vacant for several years. It was in use as a Theatre/Stage/Dance school until fairly recently.

If the proposers of this scheme can’t be trusted to get that basic fact right, they can’t be trusted – full stop.

It could be opened as an Everyman cinema which also shows National Theatre live