IT HAS been a derelict shell for almost three years – but now York’s Odeon cinema is on the verge of reopening.

The owners of the Blossom Street landmark have confirmed work on refurbishing the interior of the 1930s picturehouse has been going on for the last two months.

They hope its new guise will be ready to welcome its first customers next month – creating 25 new jobs in the process.

Kailash Suri, managing director of Reel Cinema (UK) Ltd, which bought the cinema in 2008, said he is due to visit the Grade II-listed, art deco site later this week to run the rule over how the work, none of which affects the building’s facade, is progressing.

If everything goes to plan, the revamp is expected to be completed by June 8 – with a potential reopening date being inked in for the following week, although the name the cinema will operate under has yet to be finalised.

It will initially have three screens – as it did when it closed – with the Odeon name and signs being retained due to the building’s protected status, but Mr Suri says Reel may look at expanding the facilities it offers film-goers once it is back in business.

“As things stand, we are hoping to reopen the cinema next month,” he said.

“We have been working on the site for several months to bring it up to an acceptable standard as it has obviously been closed for some years, so there is a lot of work to do, but if there are no delays between now and June we hope we will be okay with that date.

“We have not been doing any work on the outside of the building, and once we are able to reopen the building we can look at the possibility of putting more screens in and providing more facilities.

“I hope this will be very good news for the people of York and I can say that we are very pleased and excited about the reopening. We want the best for this fascinating building because we are very proud of what we do – it’s not about making money for us.”

Mr Suri said the company was currently fitting new screens, refurbishing seats and putting other infrastructure, such as ticket and refreshment counters and machines, in place, and that 25 full and part-time staff would be employed at the new cinema.

He would not confirm how much Reel was spending on the refit, but said it was a “substantial” sum.

The imminent reopening of the cinema has been highlighted on Reel’s website, which also provides details of how people can get more information of the job opportunities there.

The Odeon closed in August 2006 despite a campaign run by The Press for it to be refurbished and stay open, which was backed by more than 13,000 readers.

Reel agreed to buy the building the following summer and initially said it hoped to reopen the cinema almost immediately prior to a refurbishment programme, but it soon emerged the site was in too poor a condition to be able to open until after the revamp.

Its purchase – for an undisclosed sum – was finally completed in January 2008.


‘A huge undertaking’

THE man in charge of the Odeon revamp said the task of restoring the building to its former glory was “massive” – but is confident it will be finished on schedule.

Graeme Mitchell, Reel Cinema (UK) Ltd’s building director, said painstaking work to preserve the building’s listed features was a major part of the refurbishment exercise, which has a 16-strong team work 12-to-14-hour days to get it completed by next month.

“Given the constraints we have, we are working with conservation officers at City of York Council and we have architects on board who are coming up with the relevant designs as we go along,” he said.

“Our brief is to undertake a sympathetic refurbishment of the building, given that it is art deco in style, and, where possible, we will preserve that image.

“Mr Suri insists on retaining the building’s original features. That is very important to him.

“The exterior of the building is untouchable, right down to the Odeon signage – it will have to be painted, but we must retain the original colours.

“At the moment, it may look like there is still a lot to do, but much of the remaining work is purely a decoration exercise, such as refurbishing toilets and refurbishing other facilities where required.

“The seating capacity will not be reduced – it will be at the original capacity, which is around 1,000 – but all the seating is listed so it has to be upholstered rather than replaced.

“However, the screens will be a new addition as the old ones are damaged, and we expect these to be fitted within the next few weeks. The majority of the preparation has already been done, so we are hopeful of completing it by June 8.”

He said the only parts of the old cinema still in working order were the huge curtains to cover the screens, which date back many years.


A work in progress...

Completed work

• Heating renovation work and installation of two commercial boilers.

• Retubing and repiping many areas, as some of the pipes had rotted and flooded part of the building.

• Removing seating for upholstery.

• Removing old bathroom facilities.

• Stripping old paint in the public areas of the cinema.

• Repairing and replastering the central foyer area.

• Stripping damaged false ceilings.

• Removing and replacing the front of the canopy at the entrance.

Scheduled work

• Decorating the main auditorium and the two other auditoriums and installing three new screens.

• Repairs to the canopy roof at the front of the building.

• Structural repairs to the higher levels of the building’s exterior.

• Completion of new toilet facilities.

• Construction of new concessions counter – which will sell tickets and refreshments – and upstairs bar and café area.

• Fitting signs.

• Cleaning and finishing work.