29 September - Peter’s vanity project
In my opinion, attempting to open a tiny cinema in a
small town like Sidcup was doomed from the start. As an AV snob I truly hate the
move to the streaming of films because the quality is not as good as it is on
disc and one’s favourites, which one might have paid for, can be withdrawn with
little or no notice. But many people seem to think a film viewed on a mobile phone
screen and heard over some crappy Bluetooth ear pieces can do justice to a
multi-million dollar production intended to be seen
on a forty foot or bigger screen accompanied by a dozen or more loudspeakers. But they do and more fool them.
Clearly (the then) Cabinet Member Peter Craske and his Council had no misgivings and
did little or no due diligence when they engaged the Really Local Group to
install a tiny three screen (30 odd seats each) on, ironically, the site of the
old Sidcup Blockbuster video store. In my admittedly technically biased opinion
it did
not provide me with a better viewing experience than I can have at home, so it
did not attract me for more than one visit. So who did it attract? Not enough obviously.
The cinema opened in the middle of 2023 and the company went into liquidation 18 months
later leaving Bexley Council with a reported £55,000 of unpaid debts. Despite
that Sidcup’s doors remained open thanks to a generous handout by
Bexley Council; £12,000 a month admitted and up to £17,000 reported. In July
this year the cinema finally closed, supposedly for a refit.
Believe it if you like, it is still closed. Pubs and shops get refurbished in a
matter of days.
This
blog is prompted by an article posted yesterday on the
London Centric website.
It reports that The Really Local Group’s cinemas were supported by substantial
public funds and in return it has left unpaid tax bills, unpaid film
distributors, unpaid staff and unpaid small businesses. Peter Craske must be
really proud of his failure to spot the obvious and maybe MP Louie French
regrets backing the cinema so enthusiastically.
The one remaining cinema in Sutton hides a pile of rubbish because the bin
collectors have not been paid and there is evidence of bailiff activity. Like Sidcup’s
StoryTeller it shows a restricted range of films because some film distributors prefer to be paid.
In Catford, where the cinema was an early failure and the Council was not stupid
enough to bale it out, the luckless caterer had to chase the cinema operator
for the money he was owed. From what little information we know from Bexley
Council, they will not even try.
I suspect that this is the sort of area which will benefit from having a Reform
UK Council next May. My occasional discussions with their local finance experts
suggest very strongly that they will not be taken for mugs as Councillor Peter Craske clearly has been.
This blog relies heavily on the
London Centric website and a tip
off from @tonyofsidcup.
Index to StoryTeller related blogs.
