Former 1920s cinema could become church venue

A former 1920s cinema, which has been empty since 2014, could be turned into a church venue.

Elmbridge Borough Council sold Weybridge Hall to Equippers Church for £1.2m in November.

On Tuesday, the planning committee at Elmbridge will decide an application to turn it into a community facility, primarily for religious gatherings.

Council officers have said permission should be granted.

The venue, in Church Street, Weybridge in Surrey, had previously been granted permission to become a cinema with flats above it but the council said the development "never materialised".

Currently, the building includes a vacant shop and community hall on the ground floor and a vacant four-bedroom flat across the second and third floors.

Meeting documents said that under the plans the main auditorium could be used by local schools and community groups when not in use by the church and multi-purpose studios on the upper floors would be available to hire.

The application received 32 letters of objection, many of which said there were other religious venues in the area and that the building should be used for the benefit of the community of Weybridge as a whole.

At the time of agreeing the sale in November, the council said Equippers Church would "preserve the historical essence of Weybridge Hall" and "breathe new life into the building".

The council said no offer to buy the building was received from a theatre or arts group.

Among the objections to the current application was that a cinema, theatre or youth group would be preferable to the church proposal.

According to its website, Equippers Church is a global movement of local churches across 16 countries.

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