Catford residents are outraged at the closure of Lewisham’s only cinema, Catford Mews, which remains permanently closed after the council repossessed the building this week.
Catford Mews opened in September 2019 and featured three cinema screens, a café, a bar, spaces for independent traders, and areas available for private events.
It replaced the Poundland store which had previously occupied the same location in Catford shopping centre.
Catford local, Taylor-Dior Rumble, described the venue, whose exterior featured in Ed Sheeran’s Bad Habits music video, as not just a cinema but "a rare third space that puts the people first.
She added: "It deserves to be preserved and its closure would be a devastating loss to the community.”
The cinema was managed by Really Local Group (RGL) until the Lewisham Council reclaimed the building on October 29.
In a statement, the council announced that RGL had accumulated significant arrears exceeding £650,000.
Since the cinema's closure, Really Local Group and Lewisham Council have been blaming each other for the circumstances that led to its closure.
The owners of Catford Mews stated on Facebook that they were given "impossible" terms after agreeing to a new 10-year operational deal with the council in May 2024.
They said this deal included "an impossibly large upfront payment" due at the end of September.
They urged social media users to help persuade the council to reconsider their decision, emphasising that "Catford Mews has never just been a commercial venture."
They added: "It was designed to be a place for local residents, whether to join a creative workshop, watch a film, enjoy comedy, or simply hang out with friends."
According to Lewisham Council, it provided RGL, a company led by former Deloitte property consultant Preston Benson, with a “significant rent-free period” to assist with the low turnover caused by the pandemic.
The council says it also granted RGL a “total of £77,890” in extra financial support and offered £50,000 to help with refurbishments at the rear of the property, which were “never delivered.”
The council also highlighted the closure of RGL's other sites, Peckham Levels and the Ealing Project, which “have both entered administration in the last three months.”
The cinema’s closure follows that of Picturehouse Bromley, which shut down in August, raising concerns about the future of cinemas in the area.
Residents, including English teacher Anne Hill, feel Lewisham Council's response is inadequate.
Anne is concerned that the council is following a troubling trend of eliminating beloved venues in Catford.
She believes this started with the closure of Little Nan’s bar, which was located in the café area of the Broadway Theatre.
She explained: “When I first went to Catford Mews, I was a little reticent. I was really uncertain as to how good it would be.
“I think that is because I am conditioned to think of Catford never having anything nice. To my amazement, myself and family went in, and it was quite impressive.
"Having lived in Catford all my life, it is and it [is] treated like it isn’t important, and every time something comes along to make Catford that bit better, the question of ‘how long will it last?’ is always is in my mind.
“I hear lots of imminent plans for Lewisham, a new library etc., but Catford has nothing and the ‘plans’ are not tangible as are those of Lewisham, and even something that was quite humble like the mews is begrudged and ripped from our deprived community.”
Anne expressed her concern that the closure of Catford Mews will leave the area with “yet another closed up building, derelict, inviting crime and making the precinct an even more quiet and dangerous place to be."
She added: "I would rarely use Catford.
"I don’t feel safe there, it was only the Mews and places like Little Nan’s that made Catford remotely welcoming.”
Anne has urged the council to include the Mews in its regeneration plans, emphasising that it served as “an excellent symbol of regenerating a community on very little money.”
Lewisham Council, in a statement, said that while it recognised the value of the building to Catford, the building’s owner, the Catford Regeneration Partnership Limited (CRPL), a council-owned company, had taken the building back.
This is because "the council, or CRPL simply cannot afford to prop up a private commercial organisation to this scale."
It added that "it isn’t fair to local businesses who pay their rent and service charges, and it isn’t fair to Lewisham Council taxpayers.”
The council claimed they gave the operator “multiple opportunities” to rectify its arrears.
It is now “proactively looking for a tenant to take over the space and bring the community benefits local people will be keen to see."
Despite the council's statement, the outrage surrounding the Catford landmark continues as locals express their disappointment over its fate.
Taylor-Dior Rumble, an author who grew up in the area and worked at Catford Mews while writing her first book, described the cinema as more than just a movie theatre.
She called it a "very precious part of the fabric of my life here in Catford" and emphasised that the cinema made her “very proud of my area.”
Taylor-Dior said: "This place positively impacted locals and vulnerable people of all ages.
"From the seniors who’d come for their weekly outing, to parents and their children and new mums connecting with others, to school kids who just needed somewhere safe to be themselves without being interrogated or pressured to spend money.”
Like Anne, Taylor-Dior wants the council to provide “actual support and investment” for the venue.
She emphasised the venue's uniqueness, and said: “The cafe culture in London is non-existent, and I think more than anything else, people are craving safe spaces to go to in the evening where they aren't necessarily pressured to buy alcohol.”
She said she “will be gutted if it’s closed forever. There’s nowhere like it.”
Cinema lovers in the area have demanded the venue be saved and created a petition that garnered over 6,000 signatures by Thursday morning.
Esther Ramtahal, a Senior Talent Acquisition Professional and Catford local for over 24 years, described Catford Mews as a "community hub."
She said: “We don’t have anymore spaces like that, so it’s a real loss for Catford. I created a petition to see if we could save it, but Lewisham responded, and it seems they won’t be saving the mews."
When asked for comment, Really Local Group referred to a statement released on its website which they stated was a response regarding Lewisham Council's defamatory statement.
In response to residents' comments, Lewisham Council referred to its own statement.
A spokesperson said, “We will keep residents updated on the building and wider plans when we are able to."
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