4:27pm Monday 12th January 2009
By Alex Lewis
THE district council has refused to disclose why the long-running and controversial city centre cinema project was secretly discussed at last week's cabinet meeting.
The agenda for Tuesday's meeting included "the Bricket Road cinema project", but press and public were barred from attending.
Spokeswoman Jane Ratford was alowed to say merely: "The cabinet discussed an agenda item on the Bricket Road cinema project which was of a contractual and commercially sensitive nature."
Developer Henry Davidson's various ambitious proposals for a multi-screen cinema as part of a very large mainly residential building behind the Alban Arena have collapsed under the weight of objections.
The rapidly-declining property market is an obvious obstacle to any renewed plan, which could only be achieved if it were profitable, as well as acceptable in environmental and planning terms.
Labour leader Roma Mills said: "I imagine they are having difficulty financing it, and are proposing changes such as far less social housing or no car parking."
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