Phoenix from the flames: ‘Spectacular’ winter garden plans for former cinema

TRANSFORMATION: How the new community hub could look. Picture credit: Self Architects and Urban Wilderness

EXCLUSIVE

By Angus Young

Plans have been unveiled for a spectacular winter garden inside the shell of a former cinema.

The West Park Palace in Anlaby Road opened in 1914 and screened feature films until its closure in 1959.

It re-opened two years later as the Granada social club and was subsequently used as a bingo hall, snooker club and a pub under various names until closing again just over a decade ago.

The council-owned building lost its roof in a fire 12 months ago while being used as a furniture storage depot by Hull-based social housing charity Giroscope.

Now Giroscope has submitted a planning application to convert it into a new £1.7m community hub complete with an internal winter garden in what was originally the main cinema auditorium.

SOCIAL: The former Granada Club in Anlaby Road

Subject to securing funding and a new long-term lease, planning approval will see the building become the base for the charity’s regular healthy eating cookery classes as well as providing space for meetings, training, events, live performance and exhibitions.

Giroscope co-founder and co-ordinator Martin Newman said: “The fire was one of the worst days of my life but apart from taking out the roof there wasn’t that much internal damage in the end.

“What it left us with was a big hole looking up at the sky and, in a strange way, quite an interesting building framing that view.

“It got us thinking: ‘Does it really need a new traditional roof or would a glazed one be better?’ It brought so much light into what had previously been a very dark space that the next logical thing to think about was adding some foliage and creating a winter garden.

”The idea is to put in a few trees and really open up the views by installing glazed panels in the side of the building facing Perry Street.

“We want to leave the main walls of the auditorium as they are, including some of the smoke damage from the fire. We won’t be plastering them, just keeping it as basic brick.

“I’m told it’s called ‘Ruined Architecture’ and it’s becoming quite trendy so why shouldn’t Hull have a bit of that?”

Taking its cue from a similar open-air community garden created in the shell of a semi-demolished terraced house in Toxteth in Liverpool, the charity set to work drawing up plans for the property with the help of architecture and landscape students from Sheffield University.

Having already been to Hull for a day to brainstorm ideas as part of their degree course, some of the students are set to return to the city in the autumn for five weeks to map out future potential designs for the surrounding neighbourhood.

“It’s a really good collaboration. The students get hands-on experience while we get the benefit of their talents and enthusiasm,” said Martin.

“Ultimately, it’s going to be about creating somewhere for the community to use. In particular, our kitchen and cookery classes are going to be relocating there. They already provide training for people wanting to get a job in the hospitality sector.”

MEETING PLACE: The venue in 1961 shortly before the cinema reopened as the Granada Club

The final go-ahead depends on the success of a £1.5m grant application to the Community Ownership Fund, which had been part of the previous government’s Levelling Up programme.

The snap General Election and Labour’s victory has left Martin and Giroscope waiting to hear what happens next.

“We put a bid into the first round but got rejected. Then the Levelling Up department got in touch and allocated us someone to work on re-submitting the bid for the next round.

“That is usually a positive sign and gave us a lot of confidence we were on the right track. Then Rishi came along, called the election and put a spanner in the works!

“Now we’re just hoping Labour keeps the fund going because the grant was going to meet the bulk of the costs with us covering the rest.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed. If we get the grant I’m optimistic it will open by the end of next year as the new-look West Park Palace.”