A Look Behind The Scenes At The Chiswick Cinema

Project moving ahead on schedule, with plans for November 2020 opening

The Chiswick Cinema project is well underway in its second phase of construction and there is growing confidence that it will open its doors to the public as planned in November 2020.

We were given a visit to the site to see what is taking shape behind the hoarding and speak to the project team from Conamar Building Services who were very pleased with progress.

There are about twenty workers currently on site at the former Ballet Rambert premises, and this will increase to fifty when the next phase of works starts after Christmas for the five screen cinema. There will be three cinemas for 100 people, and two smaller screens , one of which will be a private screening room for 15 people with private dining facility

The interior has now been completely demolished- the front facade has been taken away, and with substructure and drainage works nearly completed, the builders will soon be bringing in a large crane to install the structural steel columns to support the upper floors.

All this is likely to happen after Christmas and the interior will take on more shape in the spring and summer. Local Brentford contractors Foran Construction are on the site until then, engaged with the ground works and underpinning.

Mark Brown and Thomas Biggins from Conamar

One of the most exciting parts is the plan is to have a mezzanine area with a wall of glass looking out onto the High Road. There will be a bar and a cafe and a Green Wall.

Project Manager Mark Brown and Contract Manager Thomas Biggins, of Conamar were full of praise for local residents who have been very patient throughout the past several months of disruption due to works.

This is the entrance area where there will be a first floor members bar with roof terrace and wall of glass looking onto the street eg as envisioned in picture below

This area will have one of the larger screens and the top storeys will be residential

another image of the interior ground floor

this will be the member's roof terrace

structural work

The first phase of Founder Memberships sold out quickly and next year there will be a new round of Memberships available, including students and one-year membership.

The cinema management said, "We are overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm of the local community and can’t wait to open our doors!"

Programming will include a mixture of current releases, family screenings and a broad range of event cinema including theatre, visual arts, music events, opera, musical theatre and dance.

The project has taken several years to get off the ground 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.

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. You can take a look at their Facebook page for updates or follow them on Twitter.

November 26, 2019