I’m a Bromley local who has been going to Bromley Picturehouse for years – and it’s a sad day to see it go.

When I heard the news of the Bromley Picturehouse closure I, like others, was disappointed.

In recent years we’ve seen a lot of discussion about the challenges the cinema industry has been facing in light of online streaming sites becoming more prevalent for film consumption.

Let’s not deny visiting the cinema can be costly, with tickets averaging at around £8 with things like food and drink an added extra.

But when I first signed up as a member for Picturehouse with its perks of discounts, free tickets and birthday treats, it did encourage me to visit my local cinema more.

This, combined with the fact it had a bar, made it a really convenient local cinema for an evening out with friends.

A trip to the Bromley Picturehouse would usually cost around £10 with snacks with my membership, and so I found myself visiting the big screen a lot more, something I hadn’t done long since before Covid closed them to the public.

Thinking back, I’ve seen so many monumental films at the Picturehouse, from the time I watched bleary-eyed at the sequel to Black Panther to Barbie last year dressed in pink.

However, the closure of the Picturehouse, for me, runs deeper than the loss of the current cinema.

I remember visiting the cinema when it was formerly owned by Empire Cinemas for many years, and then Cineworld from 2016 up until its closure in 2018, before it was reopened as Bromley Picturehouse in 2019.

There I saw many films for the first time - Star Wars, Harry Potter, Twilight and Frozen to name a few.

The site has been home to a cinema since 1936 and I can only hope that it continues to do so in some capacity in the future.

It was one of the main cinemas for as long as I can remember, which I can recall being there since I was young other than Greenwich Picturehouse.

I think it’s the sensation of getting older, when you start to see things that were always there from childhood disappear from your high street.

Even at the age of 30 as I walk down Bromley, Eltham or Lewisham High Street and note just how much it has changed since I was young and wonder what it will look like in a further ten years' time.

It’s a strange feeling to say the least.

Either way, it’s a sad day to see the Bromley Picturehouse go, and over the last few years it has served me and the local community very well and helped make some memories.