Council retakes control of cinema site as it's the end of the Empire
BASILDON Council has recovered possession of the new cinema complex at East Square.
On Friday (25 August) officers took action, forfeiting the lease with Empire Cinemas and allowing the council to secure a new operator for the space.
Following advice, Leader of Basildon Council, Cllr Andrew Baggott, instructed officers with his decision on Thursday, 24 August.
On Friday, 7 July 20, the council received notification that Empire Cinemas Group (UK) Limited had entered administration. Since then, the council has been closely monitoring the situation in order to better understand the implication on the Basildon development.
As of Thursday the council had received no formal notification of any significant developments and thereby began formal proceedings to safeguard the premises and protect the interests of the council and local taxpayers.
Basildon Council will now begin the marketing process in order to secure a new operator for the cinema - presenting a report with prospective tenants at a future meeting of Basildon Council's Cabinet.
Cllr Baggott, said: "It's so important to me that we protect the taxpayer's investment in this development and bring about a swift resolution to the uncertainty created by Empire Cinemas going into administration.
"A number of parties have registered their interest in the development, and today's action allows us to open up negotiations and start proceedings to get the development back on track."
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