Campaigners seeking to protect and restore the former Reel cinema – originally opened as The Royal on Derry's Cross – will stage a pavement party this Saturday to mark the building’s 88th birthday and press their case for its future as a cultural hub.
Historic venue with national connections
The cinema, which first opened in 1938, has been closed since 2019. Supporters point to the building’s long local significance and its place in popular culture: in its earlier years the auditorium hosted live appearances by major acts, attracting national attention.
Campaign chairman Karl Parsons described the building as a rare survivor from what he called the “glory days of cinema” in the 1930s, and warned the site faces the risk of demolition if action is not taken.
“It would be a serious loss to the city if it was knocked down,”
Volunteers involved with the Save The Royal campaign are not only marking the venue’s past but are gathering memories as part of an oral history project. Caroline Blacker, another campaigner, said preserving personal recollections – particularly of music shows and teenage visits – is a vital part of their work.
“There’s so much we can do with it and it will be a real community space for so many different groups,”
What campaigners want
The campaign group has outlined an ambitious vision for the building’s reuse. They want to reinstate it as a mixed-use cultural venue featuring live performance space, cinema screens and hospitality. Proposals mentioned by the group include:
- Two cinema screens alongside a live music and performance space
- A rooftop cocktail bar
- Gallery and workshop areas for local artists and groups
- Dressing rooms and back-of-house facilities suitable for visiting companies
Building history and condition
The structure dates back to the interwar period and retains an Art Deco character that campaigners say is important to the city’s streetscape. It suffered some damage during the air raids on Plymouth in March 1941 but continued in use, later expanding to include additional screens and a bingo hall.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Original opening | 1938 |
| Current status | Closed since 2019 |
| Campaign aim | Restore as live music venue, two screens, rooftop bar and community spaces |
Public event and next steps
The pavement party is scheduled to run from 13:00 to 18:00 BST on Saturday. The event will celebrate the building’s cultural history and encourage local residents to share memories for the oral history archive the campaign is assembling.
Campaigners say they hope the public show of support will strengthen their case to stakeholders and developers, emphasising the potential social, cultural and economic benefits of bringing the building back into active community use.
For Plymouth residents who remember the venue’s heyday or who are interested in the city’s heritage, the event provides an opportunity to see campaign plans, add memories to the archive and learn more about proposals for adaptive reuse.
As the debate over the future of town centre sites continues across the city, this campaign highlights the wider tensions between redevelopment pressures and efforts to retain and reuse historic cultural buildings.
