Empty cinema complex cost council £350k to maintain

Empire was initially supposed to operate the building in Basildon before it fell into administration

A defunct cinema complex cost a council almost £350,000 in the seven months the authority maintained the premises.

The building in East Square, Basildon, Essex, was purchased by the local council last August and it looked after the site until it was acquired by Vue in March.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request, submitted by the BBC, showed security and holding costs set back Basildon Borough Council £145,000 during its tenure.

The Essex-based authority said the site had created more than 40 jobs since it reopened under Vue in July.

However, Kerry Smith, an Independent councillor, said he believed the council had made a mistake in its investment due to the popularity of the nearby Cineworld.

"I can see it becoming the biggest pigeon coop in Europe," the councillor for Nethermayne said.

Independent councillor Kerry Smith says residents prefer going to the cinema at Basildon's Festival Leisure Park

He added: "Right from the start when the idea of the council buying it was mooted, I said the taxpayer should not underwrite the cost.

"It's only communist countries that do that."

Figures obtained by the BBC showed the local authority spent £190,112 on building insurance and business rates for the complex.

Utility bills cost the council a further £6,199 in the same period, between 25 August 2023 and 18 March 2024.

'Encouraged footfall'

The council purchased the site after Empire, which was due to open at the premises in early 2022, went into administration last summer.

The cinema is part of a wider development estimated to cost more than £26m in East Square.

Mr Smith said it could all be for nothing if Vue, which opened on 25 July, was not able to attract a consistent customer base.

"If someone wants to see a film in Basildon they go to Festival Leisure Park for two reasons - it's safer and it has free parking," he added.

A spokesman for the council said the cinema had "encouraged footfall and attracted new visitors" into the town centre.

"This has already directly created over 40 new jobs and will continue to improve the vibrancy of the town centre while contributing to the night-time economy," he said.

The cinema had already seen "high attendance" since it opened, the spokesman added.