An article in the Hackney Gazette in May 2003 alerted us to a proposed development for Dalston which included a 4-screen multiplex in its plans. Whilst there is clearly a need to redevelop the area south of Dalston Lane and we agree that it would be good for Hackney to have more than one cinema, we believe building one so close to the Rio would pose a serious threat to our future. As a result, we sought public support to oppose planning permission being granted and we are extremely grateful to everyone who responded. 117 emails and letters were received by the Planning department supporting the Rio's position.

The developer, Chelverton, were involved in a previous scheme for Dalston in 1996, which obtained outline planning permission but came to nothing. Originally scheduled for discussion at a Planning Committee meeting on 24 June, then for 8 July, the latest planning application finally appeared on the agenda on 22 July.

We are happy to report that Planning Committee B followed the recommendation of Planning Officers to refuse Chelverton's application for outline planning permission. Carlo Comninos (Chelverton) complained that planning officers had not consulted him in preparing their report. Chelverton associate Frank Vickery (East Thames Housing Group) claimed that the proportion of affordable housing in their proposal had been misunderstood and misrepresented in the report. This led to some uncertainty on the part of councillors. William Hodgson (Chair) pointed out that the main reason for refusal did not relate to affordable housing but to insufficient retail space. Carlo Comninos said that it was difficult to include more particularly because of the restricted amount of frontage available (the shorter side of the site bordering Dalston Lane). Christopher Sills (Conservative) spoke in favour of the proposal. Jessica Webb (Labour) raised the cinema issue saying that she did not see any need for having a new cinema when Dalston already had the Rio. William Hodgson stated that the committee required a full planning application taking on board the comments of planning officers and that it needed to show that the design of the finished product would be of high quality. He also commented that the developer could be expected to commit more resources to their application in view of the considerable potential profit to be made. Voting went as follows: 1 for (Christopher Sills), 7 against and 1 abstention (Simon Tesler, Conservative). Given the Planning Committee's evident desire to receive a development proposal that better meets its planning objectives, it is reasonable to expect that Chelverton will try again with a full application in due course. We will of course post any further news on our website

Please find below documents relating to the planning application that was refused at the 22 July meeting:

• Hackney Gazette article of 8/5/03
• Details of the planning application
• Rio statement opposing the planning application

Hackney Gazette 8/5/03

RENEWED BID TO REVAMP DALSTON

£40 million plan contains cinema, homes and shops

Another year and another multi-million pound development is poised hopefully over Dalston.

A PPP (public private partnership) consortium, headed by Chelverton (Dalston) Ltd, is set to invest £40 million, including £11 million worth of grants, in the "lively, strategic town centre", if its planning application goes through. The proposed 250,000 square foot development site between Roseberry Place and Beechwood Road on the south side of Dalston Lane, would be turned into a combination of retail, leisure and residential units, according to Chelverton's director, Carlo Comninos. "There would be 280 flats built, more than 40% of which would be affordable housing, and a multiplex cinema and retail shops," says Mr Comninos.

The development, due to be named the Interchange Centre, would be built next to the new Dalston stop on the proposed East London line Underground extension, but Mr Comninos stresses: "None of these funds is dependent on the tube running."

The plan also includes a foyer, which he describes as "somewhere for young people to live and get advice on employment and training." "They get help with training and finding jobs and its a one-stop shop for advice as well as studio flats to live in," he says.

"I am very pleased to promote such a significant scheme for Dalston. I hope it will act as a much-needed catalyst to kick-start further improvements in the town centre that the council are planning in the future. We want to work closely with Hackney Council. We have an excellent consortium with wide experience of the different elements required for successfully completing this scheme." Consortium partners include the London Development Agency, East Thames Housing Group, property developers Dawnay Day and cinema operators City Screen. "One of the main things is that this funding is time sensitive," adds Mr Comninos. "We need some quick decisions from Hackney."

The planning application was submitted on April 8. A council spokeswoman says the preliminary checks on the paperwork have now been completed. "We have received the application, but it hasn't been validated yet," she says. "We have to make sure that everything required by the planning application is there. This should happen in the next few days."

The proposed development follows a similar plan, put forward by developer Lance Cantor in November 2001, which was rejected by the council 12 months later. The £150 million development was planned for the north side of Dalston Lane, opposite the new proposed site.It was turned down because it would not have created enough jobs and did not incorporate sufficient affordable housing. Residents and heritage groups also opposed the plans because they would have meant bulldozing the Dalston peace mural.

Hackney Community and Environment Planning notice

Hackney Community and Environment
Planning & Transportation
Dorothy Hodgkin House
12 Reading Lane
London E8 1HJ

Phone: 020 8356 8042
Fax: 020 8356 8087

This matter is being dealt with by: David Field
Our ref: 2003/0610
Date: 8 May 2003

TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990

Outline Application: Demolition of existing buildings; erection of a mixed use development comprising residential (15000sqm), leisure (2200sqm), retail (1100sqm) and commercial/training (9000sqm) floor space, including parking (117 spaces) and new highway access.

Land south of Dalston Lane between Beechwood Road and Roseberrry Place and soluth of Holy Trinity School.

Application No: 2003/0610

The Council have received an application seeking planning permission for the above development which may affect you.

We have to decide whether or not to give this proposal planning permission and I would like to have your views on this before we make a decision.

You can see the application (and plans) between 9am and 5pm, at the First Floor Reception Area, Dorothy Hodgkin House, 12 Reading Lne, London E8 1HJ. You may, however, prefer to make your appointment between 10am and 1pm when a Duty Planning Officer will be available to explain the plans to you if required.

If you would like more information or want to make an appointment to meet the planning officer who is dealing with the application, please phone 020 8356 8042 and ask for David Field. If you wish to comment on the proposal, this must be done in writing quoting both the application number and my reference (which is stated at the top of this letter). Please send your letter to this office no later than 21 days from the date of this letter.

Letters received will be placed on the application file, which may be viewed by the general public. We regret that letters cannot be acknowledged.

Yours faithfully

David Field
Planning Officer

Rio statement

PROPOSED MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT IN DALSTON

We have considered the details of the new plans, which have changed somewhat since we opposed the original proposal of 1996, and whilst being in support of regeneration in Dalston (having indeed already contributed to it), we are opposed to the new scheme for the following reasons:

1) Since the Rio's £1 million Lottery funded refurbishment in 1999, the Rio has successfully provided a wide-ranging programme of new releases (both arthouse and Hollywood) and festivals targeted at different sections of the local community; the kind of labour intensive community events that the Rio is famous for, e.g. its annual London Turkish and Kurdish Film Festivals. The Rio offers access for community groups and individuals to devise and present their own programmes, and also provides opportunities for participation in the running of the organisation through open public election to its Board of Directors. The Rio is also a registered charity and aims to serve the public good. In all these regards, it continues to be a valuable cultural and community resource.

2) In this period, the Rio has also become independent of revenue funding for the first time in its 23-year history. However, despite attracting over 80,000 admissions per annum, it is proving difficult to survive without that revenue funding. There is no question in our minds that the opening of a 4-screen cinema at Dalston will severely weaken the Rio's ability to attract audiences for the Hollywood blockbusters (e.g. SPIDER-MAN, LORD OF THE RINGS, MATRIX RELOADED) that remain a small but financially important part of our annual programming.

3) Whilst a new 4-screen cinema will be able to offer a choice of mainstream Hollywood films with 4 different films per week showing at the same times every day, examination of the programming of existing cinema operations shows that whether operated by City Screen, or any other commercial company, it will not be able to provide as wide a range of films (including foreign language films) as the Rio, which utilises its well established flexible programming structure to offer 5 or 6 different films per week. The new 4-screen cinema will also run the more popular titles for lengthy periods further reducing the range of films actually on offer.

4) It could be argued that in the face of competition for its mainstream programming, the Rio should focus exclusively on arthouse and specialist films. Research and experience has shown that this would probably not generate sufficient revenue to keep it viable. The long-term public investment in the Rio would come to nothing in the event of its closure. The Rio is a much-loved Hackney landmark and a cinema of great architectural character, with English Heritage Grade II listed status. Will the new venture offer anything to match it?

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