The cinema in the merrion centre, help!

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Thu 19 Jul, 2007 7:30 pm

munki wrote: Phil,Was it Leeds Civic Trust that you contacted about including the cinema in the Heritage Open Day Tours? Yes it was the place near the calls! Yeah i looked up the heritage days & they organised it. It was ok letting the Y.E.P in but they have bugger all interest in the place..They just want to sell a few newspapers, Never get there feet wet or get dirty but get all the privalages. Thats my rant over!

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Thu 19 Jul, 2007 7:37 pm

It's no dig at you munki but what are the civic trust for if they were not aware of the Odeon been ripped out as we all learnt in the Y.E.P months ago! shouldn't they have used some initiative to get the place open for just one open day before it's gone. It hurts nobody yes?

munki · Post by **munki** » Fri 20 Jul, 2007 7:18 pm

Well, I know a few people at the Civic Trust. If there is ever a specific building that you are interested in getting in, I would be glad to approach people on behalf of the many many users of Secret Leeds... As always, no promises... But it seems to me that the Civic Trust & our Dear Readers have a lot of interests in common, & should be working together.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Fri 20 Jul, 2007 11:08 pm

Cheers munki. Well they DEFINATLY should be encouraging people to be pro active in helping save our heritage but i've never seen it once. I never even got a reply to my e-mail. I also suggested temple mills as a great candadate for the heritage day. The buildings empty & they know who the owners are so there should be no problem so i can see!

simonm · Post by **simonm** » Sun 22 Jul, 2007 1:22 am

I remember my grandad taking me to see "Where eagles dare" at the Merrion Odeon!

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Sun 22 Jul, 2007 1:50 am

Well i'm furious about the lack of action by The civic trust for this debacle! I'm lending a helping hand to the people of Bradford so they don't end up loosing a piece of there cinema history & such a fine building as easily as the Leeds folk lost there's ( Although we just lost the interior to savour on film) They organised a 'Hug the Odeon night during the week were a 1000 people voiced there fury at B.C.C! Here's my set http://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn ... 940198116/

sheret · Post by **sheret** » Sun 22 Jul, 2007 10:15 pm

There's a link on the BBC Leeds website to an interview with Edward Ziff from Town Centre Securitues. Quite a nostalgic interview and one in which he states that as owners they are happy to leave the cinema as it is than invest money into it and risk not getting a return. How things change! Does anyone know what they are actually planning to do with it.Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/realmedia/hi ... s.ramThere are also a few photos:http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/imag ... lery.shtml

wsmith · Post by **wsmith** » Tue 24 Jul, 2007 7:59 am

What has CHANGED is that, until fairly recently, the lease on the cinema was still owned by the Odeon. Town Centre Securities would, therefore, have been powerless to change anything in there... and probably wouldn't have wanted to anyway, since they still had the money from the lease.Effectively they were making the same amount of money from it closed as they would have done open...Once the lease expired, Town Centre Securities suddenly had...a. Control over a piece of capital that they didn't have control over before.b. The cost of maintaining a large empty space that wasn't making them any money...Oh, the joys of Capitalism, eh?WS