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Facebook campaign over old Odeon

5:30pm Tuesday 16th March 2010 in


A FACEBOOK group calling for Colchester’s derelict former cinema to be turned into a live music venue has attracted 2,500 members in less than a month.

Since Sam Ramsey started the group “get the old Odeon turned into a MASS music venue” on February 21, 2,571 people have signed up. The Crouch Street site has been empty since Odeon moved to Head Street in 2002.

Nightclub owner Steve Peri bought the site for £1million, but his plans to turn it into a nightclub were rejected by a Government inspector in 2008.

Since then, ideas put forward for the site have included an indoor market and a live music venue.

On the group’s site, Tom Van der Staay wrote: “I’ve always said it, if I was a millionaire, I would turn it into the best local gig venue in Essex. That place has so much potential!”

But Mr Peri gave short shrift to the idea. He said: “There are too many people sticking their noses in where it doesn’t belong.

“If it was viable, then I would have done it. But it’s not viable for me to do it.

“When the time comes, I will speak to the council and get the issue sorted.”

Comments(7)

The REAL Norm says...
8:17pm Tue 16 Mar 10

I'm with Peri Peri sauce on this one. It's his building and he can do what he wants with it as long as he meets all legal requirements. These Facebook groups mean nowt.

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old-timer says...
10:55pm Tue 16 Mar 10

I think the gay community are under-represented.Th
ere should be more venues;for them....just an idea!

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Sdapeze says...
9:10am Wed 17 Mar 10

Knock the ugly building down and build some shops with dwellings above. If Peri won't do it, compulsory purchase it. People like him are holding our town to ransom and making it look like a dump. We don't need another cinema or another music venue.

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Sparkfilms says...
9:11am Wed 17 Mar 10

Perhaps The Odeon could be used as a music venue. It's many years since leading bands of their age were seen in our town centre.

I wonder how many readers ( or local journalists ) could name the venues that were home to gigs by the following bands?

Free, Dire Straits, ACDC, Yes and Genesis.

It really did happen once in a town centre that had far more going for it than its modern day equivalent

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crosby says...
9:15am Wed 17 Mar 10

The Real Norm is right - and it hurt to say that!! Mr Peri will do what he wants with his own building providing he gets planning permission. And I somehow don't think the council have got the money for compulsory purchase.

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Andy Hamilton says...
3:09pm Wed 17 Mar 10

There are so many empty retail outlets in Colchester but does Colchester Council have any powers to force owners to do anything? Could compulsory purchase be done as the Council has no development plans in the are?
.
At least from this April rates are going to be charged on empty properties so it gives the owner an incentive to do something. Perhaps he intends to turn it into expensive flats like the new building in Crouch Street West.

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Gideon Smythe says...
7:21pm Wed 17 Mar 10

There's another important Facebook group at the moment. Save 6Music, email here: srconsultation@bbc.c
o.uk

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