Lewisham Council has announced that the Council has selected Guildmore Ltd and Curzon cinema in order to build a new 3 screen cinema with the capacity for 220 seats. The cinema will be located at Ladywell Playtower and the decision to go ahead with this development was revealed at Lewisham Town Hall on Wednesday 15th November 2017.

The MD for Guildmore, Engin Ertosun, has said that for someone who grew up near by, in Catford, and attended a range of different activities held at the Playtower. Therefore, the MD has said that it is an honour for Guildmore to be selected to take part in the exciting restoration and redevelopment of this fantastic building.

Guildmore’s vision was to transform the Ladywell Playtower into a publicly accessible leisure destination to be enjoyed by the people in the Borough of Lewisham. The development has been proposed as a response to the local demand from the community, while also drawing on the original concept for the building. The Playtower was the First Class Pool Hall seasonably decorated for use as an entertainment venue. The plan was to reopen the Playtower as a three screen cinema, with a freely accessible public events foyer and complimentary café, bar and restaurant facilities.

The central part of Guildmore’s proposal was to reinstate the long-established use of the building, a public events space that is located in the heart of the community. It is thought that a swift regeneration process will include workshops as well as public engagement events in order to ensure that all interested locals have an opportunity to understand the heritage of the Playtower as well as the future of the location and what it means for the community.

Lewisham Council are confident that Guildmore have the team, experience and resources in order to transform the neglected heritage building and save the endangered history of the location