The former Granada/ EMD Cinema in Walthamstow, now owned by Waltham Forest Council, is being turned into a 950-seat multi-purpose entertainment venue in the style of an old-fashioned East End music hall.
The £25.6m refurbishment will include reshaping the seating and stage to allow live performances with improved sightlines, while original features including the ziggurat ceiling and the building’s frontage will be restored to their former glory.
Willmott Dixon Interiors has an £18m contract. The project team includes Aecom as quantity surveyor and Bond Bryan Architects.
The Grade II* listed, east London landmark in Walthamstow opened as the Granada cinema in 1930 and in its day saw performances from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Johnny Cash. It closed in in 2003 and has fallen to run since then.
The London Borough of Waltham Forest got planning permission for the restoration in June 2020. Willmott Dixon Interiors has since carried out enabling works in preparation for the refurbishment project, including foundation strengthening, site security and site accommodation, as well as structural surveys and asbestos clearance.
The new facility will be run by Soho Theatre and is expected to open in 2023.
Willmott Dixon Interiors has previously refurbished other listed venues across the UK, including Stockton Globe, Colston Hall in Bristol, Darlington Hippodrome, Octagon Theatre in Bolton and Eltham Cinema in Greenwich.
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