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Angry objectors say Walthamstow open-air cinema 'takes away precious green space'

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date01 April 2021
Date01 April 2021
Secret Cinema will set up at Low Hall sports ground in London crime: Boy, 16, stabbed in the neck inside a Walthamstow Co-op in 'school fight' from July 5 until September 12, putting 10 football pitches out of action.

Waltham Forest Council’s planning committee heard there will be three weeks of film screenings every day except Mondays, running from 6pm until 10.30pm, with ticket prices ranging from £49 to £89 a head.

Residents implored the planning committee, which met on March 30, not to limit their green space but councillors argued cultural offerings were also important to post-lockdown life.

Committee chairman Cllr Jenny Gray said: “We do need cultural activities. Everyone has been locked up for so long, I think people would actually like to go out and have some fun.

“I know it’s expensive but you have to think about it like a gig or a one-day festival rather than going to the cinema because it’s not just a film screening, it’s an immersive experience.”

Cllr Sally Littlejohn agreed that an outdoor film screening “could be something of a psychological lift” for those who have spent more than a year without events.

Cllr Marie Pye reminded objectors that councillors could only refuse permission on “planning grounds”, regardless of their personal feelings about the event.

But neighbours and even ward councillors were vehement in their opposition to the event, with one objector yelling “shame on you” at councillors after they granted permission.

This objector, Lara Pawson, had told the committee: “It’s a fact that Waltham Forest is among the most deprived areas in the country when it comes to access to green space.

“Low Hall Fields is Metropolitan Open Land and, in defending their desire to hand over half of it for three months, planning officers point to what they call special circumstances.

"During the last year of lockdown, report after report has shown that local green spaces are quite literally keeping us sane. In summer, this space is...

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