St Albans Civic Society welcomes the news that the former Odeon may well arise from grievous dereliction and become a cinema again – thanks to James Hannaway of The Rex, Berkhamsted.

Ever since the For Sale boards went up at the end of last year, we’ve been on the edge of our seats waiting and hoping for this thrilling news. The Society has never given up on this landmark Art Deco building, speaking out at various Planning Committee Meetings and Appeal Hearings, often in recent years being a lone voice at such proceedings.

The reaction from St Albans City & District Council, and in particular from those Councillors who, in June 2008, approved its demolition for flats, will be awaited with great interest.

Likewise the reaction from the St Albans public, because, during the Society’s many campaigns involving cinema for the city, there was found to be a great affection for the old Odeon, and an apparent willingness to support moves to bring the building back to life, even with offers of public subscription.

This kind of help will no doubt be discussed at the meeting organised by James Hannaway at The Rex over in Berkhamsted at 12,30 pm on Sunday 29 November 2009. The venue is deliberate: he wants to show people just what The Odeon could become. The financial task ahead is not for the faint-hearted: he needs £3 million by early January to purchase the building - £1 million of that is already spoken for – and a couple of million after that for total refurbishment.

So it really is the time for everyone to pull together. This project is not only reinvigorating, but ticks so many of the cultural boxes often talked about, but so rarely seen to fruition. First, it will bring back cinema to St Albans - a city intimately associated with Arthur Melbourne-Cooper, a pioneer of British film-making. His cinema, The Alpha Picture Palace, the first purpose-built picture house in the UK, was opened in 1908 on the site where The Odeon now stands, and his studios were just across the road in the Telford Court area. Now there’s a bit of untapped heritage.

Regeneration rather than demolition. What a bonus for London Road, that sensitive gateway into our city, and how very green, which our Council seeks to be. Here too is a welcome addition to the ongoing City Vision – surely, at the very least, worth a SADC funding contribution.

The creation of this much-wanted amenity would mean that at last we had a proper cinema - a quality venue with a programme of films appealing to all ages. A matinee to remember: a good night out. Just like The Rex. People would come from near and far, and a previously rundown part of St Albans could be transformed into a must-visit destination.

We cannot afford to be starry-eyed. There is much to do, and real money needs to be secured. But we must not allow this opportunity to pass. Let’s do all we can to show James Hannaway that as residents of St Albans we want The Odeon to be reborn as much as he does. Come and help us in our efforts.