Cinema Museum faces closure amid developer’s silence

London's Cinema Museum faces "inevitable closure" as it nears the end of decade-long battle over ownership of its buildings.

The organisation's lease on its home of 22 years – the one-time childhood home of Charlie Chaplin – expires this month, placing it at "serious and increased risk".

It says a freehold of the heritage building was a condition of the site's 2018 sale to its current landlords, property developers Lifestory. The company, formerly known as Anthology, has repeatedly committed to securing the museum's long-term future there.

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But weeks away from potential eviction, the museum says it still has no answers as to whether it can remain in the Lambeth workhouse.

"We are still battling for our future. [Lifestory] say that if they get planning permission then they will sell us our buildings at a fair price," a spokesperson explained.

According to the Cinema Museum, this isn't the first time that promise has been made: former owners South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM) allegedly said it would offer the Master's House and wider Woodlands site to the museum before selling to Anthology, which received an £11.6m loan from the Greater London Authority (GLA) for the purchase.

A petition signed by more than 56,000 people is calling on Lifestory to "keep their promise" and work with the museum to secure both its future and the property company's profits.

Lifestory and SLaM did not respond to requests for comment. A GLA spokesperson said only that "the retention of the museum is a key part of the planning and redesign process for the development site".

Historical context

The Cinema Museum (TCM) says its lease forbids it from making any formal objections to planning applications related to the Woodlands site.

"To date we have remained neutral on the matter… However, despite two years of assurances from various players involved in this development scheme, TCM is at a serious and increased risk and our local community's lives remain blighted by uncertainty and anxiety."

It fears Lifestory will sell the Master's house and other heritage buildings to offset its losses if permission for new homes is rejected: "This act will inevitably see the permanent closure of TCM."

Its trustees say this would be "an unacceptable outcome from the sale of public land" purchased with public money. The GLA has offered another £10.2m to Lifestory if it can secure planning permission.

"We love our museum and we love our community so despite having just weeks remaining on our lease we feel its time to speak – we all need a fair and timely outcome that works for everyone and ends uncertainty."

TCM has operated on consecutive annual leases since 1998, surviving a separate sale attempt by SLaM in 2007. Since 2011, it has sought ownership of its buildings so it can undertake repairs and use the yard behind the museum.

The 2018 sale by Savills noted the museum's lease was due to expire that year, which TCM says may have given the impression it was planning to move.

Community asset

TCM is run by volunteers via earned income and public donations, attracting more than 20,000 visitors, donating £5,000 worth of tickets and offering 1000 hours of susbidised space to schools and community groups in a normal year.

It hopes to create up to 25 future jobs and three apprenticeships if it can attract enough investment. It was not eligible for the Culture Recovery Fund and has so far fundraised its way through the pandemic, attracting a rare grant from the Art Fund.

In consultations on the development, community members have advocated for TCM's retention in Kennington.

A March 2020 post on a local community board reads: "If the future of The Cinema Museum was indeed of consequence to Anthology/Lifestory then a suitable arrangement would have been forthcoming and completed much earlier in Anthology/Lifestory’s ownership."

"This would have enabled The Cinema Museum to have the security of tenure and a firm basis to invest in the heritage buildings and secure the museum’s sustainable future."