Empty cinema complex costs Basildon council £60k a month

Basildon Council commissioned the Empire Cinema as the centrepiece of its East Square development

An empty cinema complex in a town centre is costing the local council £60,000 a month.

The new Empire cinema in Basildon, Essex, was due to open in early 2022, but was hit by a series of delays.

The cinema chain then went into administration in July this year, closing some of its sites.

Basildon Council cabinet member Craig Rimmer said "plan A is to get a cinema operator in there" and open the complex "at some point next year".

Empire Cinemas collapsed into administration in early July

The Conservative-run council said it had "recovered possession of the cinema building" from Empire in August, to "safeguard the premises and protect the interests of both the council and local taxpayers".

It decided to own and develop the East Square site and build the cinema complex, which has cost £26.7million, in 2017.

The £60,000-a-month figure covers 24-hour on-site security, vacant unit insurance premiums, business rates, utilities and service charges.

It is understood that four cinema operators are interested in taking over the complex, which is in Basildon town centre.

It is expected to take about six months before the cinema finally opens. In the worst case scenario, it could take up to two years.

Mr Rimmer said: "As Barbie and Oppenheimer has shown, cinema is still popular."

Independent councillor Kerry Smith said: "Only communist countries use taxpayers' money to build cinemas.

"Basildon Council has gone down this route and sadly it's no surprise we are going to be at least £26m out of pocket."