10 years of the Plaza

Posted by Crosby Herald newsdesk on September 20, 2007 9:15 AM | Permalink

FOR the next three weeks Memories will look at the history of the Plaza Community Cinema as it celebrates its tenth anniversary.
The brief account of the cinema’s ups and downs has been put together by the Plaza’s chairman of trustees, Janet Dunn.
The story begins 12 years ago with a rescue mission after information sent to the Crosby Herald said that a substantial site on Crosby Road North was coming up for redevelopment – the cinema.

The owners were approached and the community was told that was not the case; in fact the cinema was due for a £750k refurbishment.
Some months later, a passer-by saw a notice on the lamppost to say the cinema was being demolished and a new employment office taking its place.
Heartbroken at the thought of losing his favourite leisure facility, a 12-year-old schoolboy, Paul Culshaw, started a campaign to save his local cinema.
The community was equally horrified – petitions were signed and campaigns mounted against the plans.
The cinema won its first victory when Sefton Council threw out the employment office application in September 1995.
The employment services mounted an appeal, which saw the cinema campaign step up a gear, but pulled out of the deal in January 1996.
The cinema continued to operate, but closed in November 1996.
In the same month a cinema support shop was opened to keep up the momentum in the local area and raise funds with the idea of buying the building to develop it into a state of the art facility using National Lottery funding.
However the cinema was sold to a developer in January 1997.
Cinema officials were then advised to get tenders for consultants with one strongly advising them to open the premises and run it themselves.
And in 1997, the Plaza Community Cinema Charitable Trust was established to do just that.
Jan said: “By the end of May 1997, the trust had arranged an 18-month lease with an option to purchase the building at £325k.

“Within six weeks we did a business plan, loaned projection equipment valued at £40k and refurbished 200 seats with only £11k working capital but a wealth of volunteer enthusiasm and Sydney Samuelson to secure the film.”
The cinema was reopened as the Plaza Community Cinema in July to show Jurassic Park to a packed house.