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Colchester Odeon owner's ulitmatum

10:20pm Monday 21st December 2009


THE owner of a former cinema said opponents of plans to turn it into a nightclub should put their money where their mouths are.

Steve Peri said councillors and residents who want a shop or covered market at the old Odeon in Crouch Street, Colchester, should “put up, or shut up”.

The millionaire entrepreneur said: “Steve Peri is in the nightclub and entertainment business and that is what he is going to do – not something else that is not viable.

“If someone wants to buy it from me, they can turn it into whatever they want. But I am the owner and I am going to use it for entertainment.”

He plans to resume talks with Colchester Council in the new year over his hopes for the Odeon, which he bought for £1million.

His previous bid to turn the Thirties building into a super-club in a £3million refit was rejected by the council’s planning committee and again on appeal.

Regeneration spokesman Lyn Barton has said it is “not worth resurrecting” the scheme.

But Mr Peri, former owner of the Hippodrome, now Liquid Envy, in the town’s High Street, said councillors would have to accept the building would either be used for entertainment or stay derelict.

He said: “I don’t want to leave it sitting there, because it is costing me money. But it is not for other people to be telling me what I should do with it.

“Why would I want to open a clothes shop or something there? That’s not my business and I don’t know anything about it.

“I surprised quite a few people before in Colchester when I had the Hippodrome. There were people living in flats a few yards away, but we never had any complaints because of the security measures we put in and the way we managed it.

“It was the same with our venues in Chelmsford, and Norwich, where I’ve been working for seven years now. If there are problems with binge-drinking or drugs, or whatever, the answer is to work with the police and council to sort it out.”

The cinema was the town’s first purpose-built venue for films with sounds. It has been boarded up since 2002, and police have revealed they have regular problems with youths breaking in.


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Your Say YourColchester

Feisty CBC, Colchester says...
10:47pm Mon 21 Dec 09

How about you shutup and get left with a white elephant (number two only to the VAF) Mr. Peri?
Regarding your other purchases (drug dens) why don't you sort it and not leave it to the local police and council?

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crosby, West Colchester says...
11:27pm Mon 21 Dec 09

Cheeky sod!

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Shrub Ender, Colchester says...
12:47am Tue 22 Dec 09

God Colchester has some very narrowminded people in it if the last 2 comments are to go by. Of course it should be used for entertainment it was built for that precise use!!!! I cant see what problems it will bring as the street is already heaving with bars. The noise issue is a smoke screen from the police and councillors who like to be seen opposing these sort of applications to appease the 'nimby's' such as those who commented above me.

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RitchieHicks, Newtown says...
10:17am Tue 22 Dec 09

Having a different opinion to you doesn't make people "narrow minded" - it just means they have a different opinion than you. It's more narrow minded to expect everyone to have the same opinion as you.

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seikothrill, Colchester says...
10:20am Tue 22 Dec 09

I'm to old to attend nightclubs but I feel the owner should be allowed to go ahead with his plans as at the present moment this building is an eyesore. Maybe a (suspicious) fire could resolve the problem?

If the residents and council don't like the plans as then as the owner says 'put up or shut up'.

Whilst on this subject this area of Croucjh Street should be pedestrianised after 6pm so all the bars and clubs and food outlets could operate more freely. Also by placing these establishments in one area it would be easier to police and if there was any trouble the police could isolate street to resolve problem without trouble spreading to other areas of town

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totallyfootball, Colchester says...
11:15am Tue 22 Dec 09

I don't think that entertainment is the issue shrub ender, it's what level of entertainment, you are right it was built for entertainment but that was a different form of entertainment and a long while ago.

The noise issue is not a smoke screen and for Mr Peri to say that when he had the Hippodrome that there were no issues of this nature is rubbish. There was not many weeks go by without people complaining about noise, fights or people urinating outside their doors. This building does still lend itself to entertainment but I personally feel that we have enough night clubs offering a good level choice to suit the towns current population.

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Sdapeze, sdapeze@aol.com says...
11:41am Tue 22 Dec 09

Pull it down and build shops and flats on the site. The building is ugly and will always be ugly. But what we definitely do not need is another nightclub. The nightclubs that we aready have are more than adequate.

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AndyP335, Dedham says...
2:55pm Tue 22 Dec 09

I sympathise with Mr Peri, who is a successful entrepreneur, of which there are not enough in Colchester. That said, there is a conflict of interest here which will only be solved by a creative approach. The problem with planning committees is that they are only set up to say Yes or No - by definition they cannot be creative. Worse, when councils try to be creative, we end up with black holephants like the VAF. So what we need are some creative and profitable ideas for the site.

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Jess, maine/colchester says...
3:00pm Tue 22 Dec 09

actually shrub end you ask what's wrong with one more club? well, that's the whole problem. too much of a good thing. the more clubs and bars you have in one area, the more trouble you're going to have.

i actually think a nice covered shopping area maybe with some cafes would be better. maybe some sort of museum? colchester could certainly use more culture rather than clubs- cultures always better (in my opinion)

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Andy Hamilton, Lexden says...
3:51pm Tue 22 Dec 09

As it is costing the owner money doing nothing, why does he not put it up for sale? The night club option looks dead in the water so let someone else redevelop the site.
.
It is wrong to sit on this development site for seven years whining if the council planners refuse to back down.
.
It is just the same with Jumbo where plans are made and dropped. The buildings just deteriorate because the purchaser has unviable ideas.

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Emaximillian, Colchester says...
4:30pm Tue 22 Dec 09

Let him have it, Colchester has become a 18-30 playground anyway. The soul of this town was sold long ago.

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Taximan01, Colchester says...
5:22pm Tue 22 Dec 09

As Emaximillian says, town is now like an 18-30's town, in our job all we seem to be doing on a Friday & Saturday is taking people who are 30 + home from 10:30 onwards because there is nothing for them in town. All the bars\clubs seem to cater for is teenage\early twenties customers. If the old Odeon was to be turned into a club, then a bit of research would show that just because your not a spotty Herbert & like to wear clothes doesn't mean you don't want a bit of night life. Look how successful The Bull has become by catering for grown ups! So Mr Peri, give us a Motown & Soul night now & again if you get your license......... Please.

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the undertaker, Harwich says...
5:26pm Tue 22 Dec 09

If I was him I would just leave it boarded up. If these other ideas are viable where are the people with the money offering to buy it off him. Seems most people are stuck in a time warp and have prbably never been to a night club in their sad little lives.

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Sdapeze, sdapeze@aol.com says...
5:48pm Tue 22 Dec 09

Sorry Taximan but we go home early because we are tired and we have work in the morning. It's the youngsters that have all the energy and spare sponduliks. There are enough clubs already.

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amy.g.dala, Colchester says...
9:41pm Tue 22 Dec 09

<The millionaire entrepreneur said: “Steve Peri is in the nightclub and entertainment business and that is what he is going to do – not something else that is not viable.>

Gotta love someone who refers to himself in the third person..

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TheStressHead, COLCHESTER says...
11:05pm Tue 22 Dec 09

I think Mr Peri has a point if the local Authority are so insistant that they dont want the Odeon turned into a night club then they should should buy it. This would have been an ideal opportunity for the council to buy a wonderful building and turn it into something decent to pull in local trade and visitors. They seem to have found a never ending pot of money for the VAF....so why not find a little bit extra for this and do something for all ages and not just the young ones...go on I dare the local planning authority and councillors to do something that seems alien to them, develop a building in colchester that most people would or could enjoy...Mind you I wont hold my breath. We only have to look at the most prominent feature in colchester (Jumbo) they have had so many chances to buy this and do something wonderful with it to no avail.

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crosby, West Colchester says...
11:49pm Tue 22 Dec 09

No he doesn't have a point. He bought the place to turn it into a nightclub and assumed the great Mr Peri would be welcomed with open arms and the council would just say 'yes please great Mr Peri'. They didn't and he's left with a derelict site on his hands. Serves him right for being such an arrogant bighead!

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Boris, Colchester says...
3:01am Wed 23 Dec 09

The council should never have allowed the Post Office building to be turned into a cinema. That way, the Odeon would have stayed where it was, and there would not be the problem with this derelict site.
If Mr Peri wants to provide entertainment on the old Odeon site, let him open a cinema to compete with the mediocre fare at the new Odeon.

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Surb, Colchester says...
1:33pm Wed 23 Dec 09

Why not something different, other then a nightclub. Such as a CASINO... how many people will attend that... I reckon I would.

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Shadow Demon, Colchester says...
2:07pm Wed 23 Dec 09

Boris wrote:
The council should never have allowed the Post Office building to be turned into a cinema. That way, the Odeon would have stayed where it was, and there would not be the problem with this derelict site.
If Mr Peri wants to provide entertainment on the old Odeon site, let him open a cinema to compete with the mediocre fare at the new Odeon.
I don't believe that Odeon are responsible for the making of any movies and show new films like many other conema chains across the country.

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Debbie3, Stanway says...
3:15pm Mon 28 Dec 09

I would like to see it turned into a venue for bands/gigs. We have nowhere suitable for big live bands to perform at in Colchester as Charter Hall does not have the appropriate amount of stage space for lighting and the Arts Centre’s capacity is too small. It's about time we had a large venue for this purpose so we don't have to travel to London to see a show. As for noise problems, have a curfew as many venues do- shut at 11pm. Perfect!

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