By
the time Stockport Plaza Trust took over 
in
March 2000, the building was very close to sustaining severe damage. During
the two years that the building had been empty, deterioration had allowed dry
rot to take hold in the roof and basement. Water was leaking through ceilings
in the auditorium and backstage and a section of elaborate plaster decoration
was found to be collapsing. Stockport Metropolitan Council not only provided
a grant of £450,000 for the purchase of the building but also gave a grant of
£50,000 towards emergency repairs, which began immediately and the building
shell has now been stabilised.
Conversion from bingo hall to cinema
and theatre was undertaken by Friends Of The Plaza, who plastered and decorated
walls, undertook electrical work, installed stage equipment, sound and lighting.
600 seats were donated by a Manchester theatre and installed in the circle.
A large dedicated team of volunteers stripped old upholstery and repainted seat
irons and woodwork. Dressing rooms were adopted by local organizations
while the support of local businesses and individuals was critical to the project.
Cinema
equipment has been reinstalled into the long disused projection box, some of which
is similar to the original 1932 installation. The photo below is a post-war
Kalee 20 projector but the Western Universal base, on which the projector sits,
is an authentic 1930’s item. The photo to the right shows the authentically
restored 1948 Westar projectors on Western Electric 2002 Sound Heads. is
still on the lookout for two Kalee 8 Indomitable Projectors, as used at the time
of its opening.
Following
the realisation that many previously hidden features still existed, was
upgraded to Grade II* Listed status in 2000 and is now one of just a handful
of Grade II* Listed cinema buildings in operation in the UK.
The demands of today's audiences
and performers are very different from those of the 1930s. Not only have statutory
duties, in relation to Health & Safety, Licensing, Fire Certification, Building
Controls and Disability Discrimination come into force, the expectations of
comfort, including seating, toilets, lifts, refreshment areas, sight lines,
acoustics, heating and ventilation have vastly changed. Over two phases, will
be accurately restored inside and outside to its 1930's splendour and detail
but incorporate the facilities demanded in the 21st century for the benefit
of local, regional and national communities.
The first
phase of the Lottery bid will focus on:
• the external façade and
fabric to include the restoration of the glazed white-grey terracotta frontage,
the restoration of windows currently boarded up, the reconstruction of the veranda
and replacement of the neon lighting on the main façade.
• the front of house: to include the installation of a lift, to be sensitively
incorporated within the restored foyers, to provide wheelchair access to the
stalls, basement and restored café at first floor level and the modification
of the basement area to provide an administration office and new fully accessible
toilets
• mechanical and electrical improvements
also
features in Stockport
Metropolitan Borough Council’s (SMBC) ongoing town centre regeneration strategy.
Alongside local heritage attractions, such as The Air Raid Shelters and The
Hatworks, SMBC has expressed the view that a thriving PLAZA will assist with
the development of the town centre’s evening economy. In fact, could
become an integral part of the new town “plaza” under an ambitious £500m town
centre revamp. SMBC has unveiled an architect’s concept of how a redeveloped
town centre could look in the future and ,
taking up one end of Mersey Square, is obviously an important part of the Council’s
proposals.