15 December - Sidcup has a Castle
The ill-fated Sidcup cinema reopened on Friday and someone who went to see Wicked: For Good reported
that his was one of three family groups who had together
swollen Sidcup High
Street’s footfall by 33%.
In an attempt to offer support and to check if the Castle Group presented films any
better than the Really Local Group - like matting the screen to the appropriate
aspect ratio for example - I asked a friend if she fancied a rare trip to the
cinema but after being given the go ahead I found that there are no films listed
after this Wednesday. I suppose you must learn to walk before you run.
Castle Group has a track record of running successful small cinemas so probably a better bet than the last operator.
A pity that Bexley Council didn’t find
them four years ago.
@tonyofsidcup has been trying to find out what Cabinet Member Munir meant when he said that
the failed Really Useful Grouo had been subjected to vigorous due diligence but
relevant documentary information is difficult to come by.
Presumably you put out a tender to contract and any instructions and guidance
that might entail, Examine the (only?) response and see if it meets the usual
green and woke agenda that all Councils follow and hope that real demand meets
the operator’s optimism.
What due diligence is never likely to reveal is whether or not the operator is a
fantasist. Presumably the Cabinet Member who pushed it through was determined to
do so and exercised the same degree of care and poor judgment as he did when
awarding Parsons Brinckerhoff a four million pound contract to fix the borough’s
roads - whatever became of that? - and aiming obscenities at residents which
resulted in his arrest.
The £4m. contract was
said not to exist but
the Press Release
proved otherwise.