Whiteladies Picture House flats and gym plan rejected

A petition with more than 1,600 signatures is calling for the building to be used as an arts centre

Plans to turn a derelict cinema in Bristol into flats and a gym have been rejected.

The Whiteladies Picture House closed in 2001 and a petition calling for it to be reopened as a cinema and arts centre has collected more than 1,600 signatures.

The plan to turn it into five flats and a gym had been recommended for approval.

That proposal was turned down by councillors at a meeting on Wednesday.

Supporters of the arts centre plans hope a partnership with an unnamed chain will help fund the cinema and provide newly-released films.

They want to have a 200-seater cinema upstairs and an auditorium which can hold 450 downstairs, which could be used as a live performance area or a larger cinema.

The Grade II-listed building, on Whiteladies Road, was owned by Odeon, which ran it as a three-screen cinema before selling it in November 2001 - almost 80 years after it opened.

But when it was sold, Odeon put a covenant on the building stating it could never be used as a cinema or for theatrical purposes.

The group had previously managed to have the covenant waived by Odeon bosses, who were persuaded the plans were not a threat to Odeon's other business interests in the city.