A closing date is yet to be decided for a cinema in Oxford due to be turned into a hotel.
Plans to convert the Odeon cinema on George Street into a block of hotel apartments were given the go ahead by Oxford City Council last week.
The £37million proposal includes demolishing the building and creating a new multi-storey development.
READ MORE: Award winning pub handed NEW hygiene rating
The Oxford Mail contacted Odeon for a comment on the future of the cinema, and the company confirmed it is still too early to provide details on the last trading day.
A spokesperson for Odeon said: “We can confirm that our Oxford George Street cinema will be closing when its lease runs out in September 2024.
“Following preliminary discussions with Oxford City Council about potential plans to redevelop the city centre, the council has announced that it intends to move ahead with a plan to redevelop the site into a new community hub and accommodation.
“Supporting the Odeon Oxford George Street team is our number one priority, and we would like to thank our colleagues for all their incredible work over the years at the cinema.
“We will be looking to secure jobs for as many of them as possible in our other local cinemas.”
Oxford Mail readers can now subscribe online for £4 for four months or get 15 per cent off an annual subscription in this July flash sale offer 👇https://t.co/wpeQlimvd8
— Oxford Mail (@TheOxfordMail) July 6, 2023
The Odeon on George Street will be the company’s third cinema to close in Oxfordshire, following closures in Banbury and the 99-year-old Magdalen Road theatre.
The Odeon cinema building on George Street dates back to 1936 and was run as the Ritz Cinema.
The building was badly damaged by a fire in March 1963 and reopened later that year.
Odeon Theatres took over the cinema in 2000 and the building had capacity for six different screens.
The building was revamped again in 2010.
The plans for new hotel-apartments on the site is being spearheaded by Oxford City Council.
The deputy leader of the city council, Ed Turner, said: “The lease is expiring on the cinema, and if we as a council have an asset we hold, local taxpayers expect us to do something with that asset.”
He admitted the cinema industry was struggling, saying: “The cinema sector is pretty stretched but I do hope Odeon will consider reopening their cinema on Magdalen Street.”
But he added: “It’s absolutely a sign of the times.
"There’s a shortage of hotel rooms and apartments in Oxford.
"Oxford just doesn’t have the capacity that’s needed. There are so many residential properties being converted into airbnbs.
“This is a special situation – an asset owned by the council which, at the moment, doesn’t really work for us.
READ MORE: Emma Watson spotted at Wimbledon with Lewis Capaldi
"But it’s a site where there’s real potential to do more. The commercial endeavours are on higher floors and we’ll serve the community on the ground floor.
“We’ve not been able to do the community engagement we would like to do yet, but it is important that the ground floor provides what is needed for community.
“This is a really exciting opportunity to develop what happens there. It should really improve the atmosphere around Gloucester Green because it’ll remove blank walls that look onto the square.
"The Odeon has just brick walls, which is a shame.
"But it’s early days and we and the organisations involved have not been able to engage the public yet.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel