PLANS for the redevelopment of a derelict cinema have been given the green light.

The Coronet Cinema, in Well Hall Road, Eltham, has remained disused since it closed in 1999.

But developer Cathedral Group’s plans to partly demolish and redevelop the Grade II listed building were given the go-ahead at a Greenwich Council planning board meeting, on October 30.

Under the plans 63 residential properties, teaching space for Greenwich University, and a 60-seater auditorium will be built, as well as the redevelopment of shops behind the cinema.

The plans were approved after a public consultation was held in September and despite some residents preferring to keep the building, which was built in 1936, as a cinema.

A previous application by Cathedral Group to build a children's play centre in the auditorium, five new ground-floor shop units and 24 flats was given final approval by the council last July.

But legal negotiations over a strip of land behind the cinema forced Cathedral Group to abandon its plans and submit a fresh application.

Tory councillor Spencer Drury previously wanted to keep the building as a cinema but supports the new development.

He said: “It is a shame to see the auditorium go, but I think this gives the rest of the building a chance to remain a landmark at the entrance to Eltham.

“It is regrettable that it has taken eight years to get this far and I hope the process is now allowed to move forward without central government interference.”

Deputy leader of Greenwich Council and member of the planning board Councillor Peter Brooks believes the development will secure the future of the historic building.

He said: “The plans will see this site transformed to provide much needed new housing, in addition to new space for retail, business and community use.

“Members of the planning board felt unanimously that this application will greatly assist in the regeneration of the area.”