Hadleigh pub could become boutique cinema (From Southend Standard)

Hadleigh pub could become boutique cinema

8:00am Friday 2nd March 2012 in Southend By Melissa Hills

AN empty town centre pub could be turned into a 160-seat boutique cinema, with a glazed atrium and swanky restaurant for customers.

The Crown pub, in High Street, Hadleigh, is one of the town’s most historic buildings and dates back to 1899, but the masterplan could see the building transformed and brought up to date.

As part of the plans for the cinema customers would have to pay £35 for a set deal, where they would watch a film and have a meal in the complex.

Mark Evershed, regeneration delivery manager for Castle Point Council, said: “We are looking at making this a boutique-style cinema.

“It will be a fantastic, up-market facility for the whole of Hadleigh. It is a really exciting part of the project.

“We have a multi-national company interested and it would mean customers buy the film and meal deal for a set price.”

Other ideas for the pub include turning it into a family-friendly restaurant and Mr Evershed said he had held discussions with retailers who had shown interest. Louise Nicholls, 28, of Downer Road North, Benfleet said although the idea of a new cinema was nice, it needed to be an affordable facility for everyone in the community.

She said: “You can’t just have one set deal for everyone with no flexibility. I can’t see a lot of people wanting to spend £70 a couple just for an evening out to the cinema and a meal.

“There are lots of places in Hadleigh where you can eat fairly cheaply and then you have the cinema in Canvey, where tickets are reasonable prices.

“I am a young person who would potentially use the facility, but it would just be too expensive to go.

“I like the idea of regeneration, but we need to keep the heart in Hadleigh, and not just rip it out.”