Commenting on recent events, Cllr Anthony Dunn had this to say:
"It appears that the sale to the Bahrainis has fallen through, but only after they had paid a substantial non-refundable deposit. It became apparent to them (possibly arising out of the comments made by local politicos and residents) that they would not be able to turn The State into flats. Consequently, they declined to complete on the deal and forfeited their cash which may well have amounted to over £100K. That is now paying for 24/7 security cover, for ad hoc repairs, and for the Wurlitzer organ to be maintained.
RankMecca are now marketing the place again and there are several interested groups. It has separately been suggested to me that the Museum of the Moving Image (formerly on the South Bank) is looking for a new home and that the Bradford based National Museum of Photography, Film and Television is also looking for a southern base. What is required is for someone to approach them and the National Lottery Heritage fund to see whether there is any mileage in any of this. The place would make a magnificent film and theatre related venue once more. Unfortunately, RankMecca continue to be extremely aloof and difficult to contact about their intentions.
With Cllr James King from Kilburn (Camden), I have written to the lead members for Planning and Regeneration on both sides of the Kilburn High Road asking for Camden and Brent jointly to get involved and make these contacts with MOMI and NMPFT plus the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Watch this space."
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Don't expect Rank Mecca to be anything but obstructive. They run these places into the ground then expect to sell to the highest bidder and never mind the historic value of the site. We mounted a campaign to save the Salford Ambassador Cinema. Mecca employed a specialist the get the cinema delisted so they could sell it to a developer. He then asked for ten times what he'd paid if we wanted to buy and restore it then sold to another developer who then demolished it and built tacky flats in its place.
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