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The supermarket chain is aiming to open a new multi-million pound store on the ground floor of the former Abbey Cinema on Church Road North in the Wavertree area of Liverpool.
Lidl withdraws plans for new Wavertree shop in former cinema
Plans to demolish the Abbey Cinema were scrapped after the building became listed
The former Abbey cinema in Wavertree; pic by Andy Teebay
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Supermarket giant Lidl has withdrawn plans to create a new store within a former cinema building in Wavertree.
So what next for this relic of a bygone age? Bring back silent movies, a music hall, a meeting and conference facility for the National Union of NimBys(NUMB). Might it be a tourist attraction for people who like to see old buildings fall into decay and fall down? The excitement to see what will happen is almost to much to bear?
Saving these kinds of buildings is the easy bit, it`s finding a viable future use and any funding which is the more difficult.
Whatever the usage the enormous void of the auditorium will have to be considered , which means it could be used for , say , multi level self storage or flats above any retail. In addition any developer would want to introduce fenestration into the building to add light both on any upper floors as well as ground.
BBC News
Published
image copyrightLove Wavertree
image captionThe cinema was mentioned in the original lyrics for The Beatles 1966 song In My Life
A cinema where George Harrison and John Lennon spent their teenage afternoons has been saved from demolition.
Supermarket chain Lidl wanted to knock down the Abbey Cinema in Wavertree, Liverpool to make way for a new store.
The cinema, which closed in 1979, housed a branch of the Co-op supermarket until that shut in 2020.
Historic England (HE) said following a local campaign, the rare survivor from the 1930s heyday of cinema had been given Grade II listed status.
HE listings advisor Sarah Charlesworth added that she hoped a sustainable new use could now be found for the building.