Cinema for sale in Colchester

A cinema is for sale in Colchester after ten years of closure has left it somewhat derelict.

The ex-Odeon cinema in Crouch Street has become an eyesore in the view of many locals as the owner Steve Peri has abandoned his hopes to redevelop the site.

Mr Peri had hoped to build the cinema up as a nightclub, but it now looks like this won't be possible. Instead, the premises is on the market for £1.5 million, with the hope that local traders will take interest in transforming the location.

Deborah Phelps, owner of Secret Garden Trading on the street, told the Chelmsford Weekly News that she would love to see the building turned into something new: “It might be good as an indoor market. Anything is better than how it is now. Years ago, Crouch Street was lovely but it needs tidying up.”

Other local business owners suggested that the site would be a good place for a restaurant and a block of flats, or perhaps as a retail destination with a number of individual shops.

Ewan Dodds, managing director of the property consultants Whybrow, explained that the Odeon is a “huge bit of retail estate, the like of which you don't often get in Colchester”. He added: “The Odeon is a grandiose, art deco building which presents a unique opportunity.”