Questions and answers

Save Our Screen is the public name of Friends of Beckenham Cinema, a volunteer group of Beckenham residents. We want the Odeon at 296 High Street, which opened as the Regal in 1930, to stay in use as a cinema and community venue for the whole town. The group adopted a written constitution on 11 October 2026.

Sources: Cinema Treasures; Historic England

No. Friends of Beckenham Cinema is an independent, non-party-political community campaign. We welcome members, supporters and constructive engagement from people and representatives across the political spectrum, whatever their views or affiliations. Our shared objective is to protect Beckenham's cinema and explore a sustainable future for this important local cultural and leisure facility.

Friends of Beckenham Cinema is an independent community campaign with no link to any religious organisation or faith group. We warmly welcome members and supporters of all faiths and none. Our campaign exists to protect a valued cinema for the benefit of the whole Beckenham community. Whatever our individual beliefs or backgrounds, we share one aim: a positive and sustainable future for cinema in Beckenham.

We have no quarrel with Citygate Church or its members, and we respect everyone's freedom to worship. Our interest is in how the building is used.

An Asset of Community Value is a building or piece of land that a council lists because its use furthers the social wellbeing or interests of the local community. Listing doesn't change who owns a building or what the owner may use it for. Its main effect comes if the owner decides to sell: community groups can then ask for time to put together a bid. We nominated the Odeon on 5 October 2026 because it has served the town as a cinema since 1930, and residents have told us how much it matters to them. Bromley Council will decide whether to list it. The law on community assets is changing under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, and we'll update this answer when the new rules take effect.

Sources: Localism Act 2011, Part 5 Chapter 3; GOV.UK community right to bid guidance; English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026

When an application is submitted, we'll read it in full and respond through Bromley Council's public consultation, which is open to any resident or group. Anything we submit will rest on planning matters. We'll also post guidance here on how to comment and what the council can take into account.

Source: Bromley Council

The Odeon is Grade II listed, so the law protects its special architectural and historic interest whoever owns it, and changes to its character need listed building consent. We'd welcome careful restoration of the original interiors by any owner. Restoring a historic interior and keeping its cinema use can go hand in hand.

Sources: Historic England; Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 7

Councils elsewhere have stepped in to protect local cinemas. In 2025, for example, Wells City Council bought the freehold of the land under its local cinema to keep it off the open market, and offered the cinema a long-term tenancy.

We recognise that Bromley Council, like councils across the country, faces serious financial pressures, and that public money for a purchase of this kind may not be available.

Council ownership is one route among several. We believe realistic routes deserve to be properly explored before the loss of an important cultural and leisure facility is accepted as inevitable.

Sources: Wells City Council; Bromley Council budget 2026/27

Email [email protected]. Press enquiries go to the same address and reach our press team. The campaign speaks publicly only through its own website and channels.

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