Late-night cinema (From York Press)

Late-night cinema

2:45pm Wednesday 25th July 2007 in News By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter

THE company planning to restore York's former Odeon cinema to its former glory is seeking the go-ahead to stay open until well into the early hours.

The independent cinema chain Reel Cinema (UK) Ltd has applied to City of York Council for a licence to operate the picture house in Blossom Street until 4am.

Licensing manager John Lacy said anyone objecting had until August 17 to lodge an objection to the application, which included the sale of late-night refreshments, but not of alcohol.

The Press revealed last month how the lease on the complex - which closed down last August - was being sold to independent cinema chain Reel Cinema (UK) Ltd.

Managing director Kailash Suri said then it was planning to turn it into a top quality, five-screen picturehouse and he hoped the cinema could re-open by August, enabling parents to take their children there during the long summer holidays.

However, children have started their break with no chance of seeing the latest blockbuster films there, with the building remaining closed and boarded up, despite signs appearing to say that the building has been sold.

On contacting Reel Cinemas yesterday, The Press was told that Mr Suri was out of the country and would be unavailable for comment until next week, and no one else could speak about the Odeon plans.

Mr Suri said last month that the company planned to carry out a major restoration of the "beuatiful, Art deco building," but only after having worked closely with council planners and English Heritage on drawing up sensitive proposals.

City of York Council said yesterday that its planning department had not yet been contacted over any proposals for the building.

The promised revival of the cinema has delighted more than 13,000 people who backed The Press' Save the Odeon campaign, which called for the picturehouse to be both kept open and refurbished.

When the Odeon shut, many feared it would never re-open as a cinema.

But Mr Suri said last month he was confident there would be sufficient custom, despite competition from the City Screen in Coney Street and Vue Cinema at Clifton Moor.

He said Reel Cinema was planning to divide the large auditorium into two screens, and create three screens downstairs, where there were previously two.

It planned to create not just a cinema but a "cinema-going experiencea magical place," with the bar and café reopened.

He said the company had experience of re-opening cinemas elsewhere after long periods of closure, and the main problems normally encountered were vandalism and difficulties such as damp.

He added that the York complex would remain open during most of the work, apart from perhaps the occasional day or week, for example when ceilings were being re-decorated. At times, certain screens would shut during the day to allow for work, leaving other screens open.