Further Delays Hit Chiswick Cinema Project

Lack of activity at site reduces hope of an opening this year

CGI of the 'Chiswick Lane' Picturehouse plan

Construction work on the Chiswick Cinema has still not begun leading to fears that, once again, disappointment is coming for those local residents hoping for a cinema in W4. However, there is some cause for hope that progress might be about to be made with the project.

Building work at the site was due to start in November but there has been no evidence of any significant activity at the site since then. In January it was announced that work was to resume at the site ‘soon’ with a view to being on schedule to open this year.

Locals have observed groups entering and leaving the building carrying clipboards and construction workers on site but only to assess the location.

ChiswickW4.com has made repeated attempts to get updates on the situation from the owner but it now seems unlikely that the cinema will make its 2019 opening target.

One unconfirmed report said that a new contractor had been recently appointed. We haven't been able to verify this with the project’s owners.

There have been no updates for over two months on the cinema's social media and a Founder Members scheme, details of which were due to be announced in January, has not yet been launched.

A source has now told us that there is 'lots going on in the background' and they hope to be making some announcements in the next week or so.

Lyn Goleby at the Green Days fete in 2018

The design plan is for an independent five screen cinema, with a terraced bar and cafe. The largest cinema, Screen One, is to have 127 seats, while the fifth screen would be private viewings.

The project has taken several years to get off the ground, initially this was largely due to difficulties getting agreement between the freeholder of the site and the cinema backers.

This agreement was concluded in June 2018 between cinema entrepreneur, Lyn Goleby, the co-founder and former Managing Director of the Picturehouse chain. She left Picturehouse in 2017 after twenty-five years, to pursue new interests in independent cinema in the UK. Ms Goleby visited the Green Days fete in 2018 , and displayed a model of the cinema project, with a banner proclaming it would be opening in 2019.

Picturehouse originally bought the 6,500sq ft dance studio site at 96-98 Chiswick High Road from Rambert Dance Company for £1.5 million in 2013. The Picturehouse chain was subsequently acquired by Cineworld and the Chiswick project was taken over by Ms Goleby's company Jubilacion Ltd.

The cinema has a Facebook page and a Twitter account but at the time of writing, the last postings on both were dated January 9th.

March 17, 2019