Building Update: Camel Parking Prohibited

With the Broadway now officially in community ownership, the race is on to secure and protect our beloved cinema until our restoration can truly begin!

One of the first areas to receive immediate attention is our car park. Yes, the Broadway did originally have a car park, which was rare for 1935! Only capable of holding around a dozen vehicles for an auditorium with a capacity of over a thousand, this space would have seemed suitable for the mid-1930s when car ownership was still reserved for the wealthy few. In 2024, with our culture of multiple cars per household, any car park to the rear of the Broadway of the future would be simply too small for our cinema’s needs. Yet, although we don’t have the space to build a multi-storey behind Main Street, we do have the space to construct up to two additional cinema screens, vital storage and toilet facilities, and perhaps even a small community garden with outdoor seating. We also may still be able to allocate a small section to a handful of disabled parking spaces for Broadway patrons with accessibility needs. A much better use of our land than twelve small hatchbacks!

In the present day, our car park has sadly become very overgrown. Despite efforts last summer to hack back the foliage, over the winter the jungle has returned. The rear of the auditorium is also currently requiring urgent attention with danger of falling render (and swooping seagulls), and therefore health and safety signage has been a necessary investment to protect those accessing the site. A major effort will be required to fell the forest and level the surface safe for works to begin. For the time-being, no safe access can be permitted, with near-term plans to tackle the weeds now taking shape!

For now, cars and camels must park elsewhere.