Consortium bid for Brighton cinema (From The Argus)

Consortium bid for Brighton cinema

11:51am Thursday 26th June 2008 in News By Sam Thomson

A famous cinema which has fallen into disrepair is changing hands for the second time in less than a year.

Businessman Mike Holland put the Astoria, in Gloucester Place, Brighton, on the market in March after paying £2.2 million for the venue, which has been empty since 1997.

Now a consortium of developers has agreed to buy the site and the deal could be completed within a month, according to agent Graves Jenkins.

Details of how much the new owners have paid and what they plan to do with the site have not yet been revealed.

Philip Graves, of Graves Jenkins, said: "It is a rather complex arrangement and involves a fairly complex planning application.

"The entire transaction should be completed within a month and at that point in time there will be a proper announcement of who the buyers are and what they will be doing with the development.

"We do not want to pre-empt anything by giving out any more information."

The Astoria was at the heart of Brighton life for decades and people have campaigned for it to be restored to its former glory.

But Mr Graves believes the site will have to be developed to make it commercially viable, although some part of it may remain for use as a live venue.

He said: "There will have to be some fairly dramatic changes to the look and set up of the building (but) there is a very good chance there will still be some kind of live venue to it.

"You cannot just buy this building, refurbish it and put it back in the public domain the way it is because it simply does not have the commercial return.

"There is no Government funding or lottery money available and in that respect it is similar to the West Pier.

"There will have to be something else on the site. How much impact that will have on the existing arrangement, it is impossible to say until the plans are out properly."

There have been high hopes for development of The Astoria in recent years but all plans have fallen through.

It was saved from demolition in 2000 but a proposal to reopen it as a cinema and concert venue was scrapped.

The previous owners, members of percussion group Stomp, made more than £1 million on the property after selling it to Mr Holland.

What would you like to see happen to the Astoria? Tell us below.