News / KNowle West
Sadness as demolition of historic former cinema begins
Emotions were high in south Bristol on Friday morning as the demolition of an 85-year-old former cinema and bingo hall started despite a long-fought campaign to save it.
In the pouring rain, local campaigner Nick Haskins held back tears as the bulldozer began to bring down the building on Filwood Broadway in Knowle West.
The 62-year-old had hoped to restore the structure – which opened in 1938 as the Broadway Cinema and later became a bingo hall – to its former glory.
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But Bristol City Council has planning approval to build 30 new homes and some commercial space in place of the site – which has been closed since the 90s and become derelict.
“It’s just a disaster for Knowle West,” said Nick, who spent a day squatting in the structure in a last-ditch attempt to save it.
The Knowle Wester says his grandfather helped build the art deco cinema, and that his grandmother sung on its stage when his grandfather was freed from a World War Two prison camp.
He continued: “To see this happen is a tragedy. I was walking around when I went into the building and I was hearing her ghost sing on that stage.
“I think I’ve done my grandfather proud. I wish I could’ve done better, but for the council the building was coming down no matter what anybody said.
“If the building was anywhere else in Bristol, it would’ve been saved.”
Nick Haskins was visually upset as the building he sought to save was being reduced to rubble – photo: Charlie Watts
In its prime, the cinema seated more than 1,100 people and also held boxing matches and music concerts – with pop star PJ Proby performing there in 1964.
Contractors Wring Group started preparing the site for demolition earlier this year, with the council saying the process is due to be completed by May.
Planning approval to demolish the cinema was given in 2019, with plans to replace it with a crescent of homes plus three to four-storey apartment blocks with ground floor commercial space approved in January 2023.
Local councillor Chris Jackson has said the ground floor space could be occupied by a supermarket, which residents have long wanted on Filwood Broadway – a street also receiving £15m to help with its regeneration.
Charlie Watts is reporting on Knowle West as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a pilot project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo: Charlie Watts
Read next:
- ‘We should not be denied the chance to say goodbye to our beloved cinema’
- ‘Neglected’ high street to undergo major redesign
- ‘If this cinema was in Clifton, it wouldn’t be being knocked down’
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