The Palace Cinema"

Palace Cinema, Chester Road, Buckley

1975

The Buckley Urban District Council served a dangerous structure notice on the owners, a London property group, which required parts of the building to be repaired or demolished. Eventually, the whole building was demolished. A press article said: "The cinema closed more than ten year ago but was used as a meeting place by organisations until 1970, including the Buckley Boxing Club who used it as a training base for some years. For the past three years it has stood empty and parts of the roof and walls have collapsed."

Around 1974, the building had become an extreme fire hazard and an eyesore. Residents of Lane End submitted a petition to the Alyn and Deeside Council about the dereliction of the area and the Palace in particular. The residents held a pavement demonstration about the unsafe condition of various boarded-up buildings, whose slates were falling off into the street.

But the demolition was "further delayed" because of the difficulties in tracing the owners, which had just been achieved by the Council's legal department. Alyn and Deedside Health Committee was at that time discussing tenders for the demolition, which ranged between £7,000 and £9,000. The members had been concerned that every time notice was served for its demolition, the building changed ownership, thus delaying action. It was decided that a fortnight's notice be given to the new owners.

Around this time also, a thief broke in and was helping himself to the metal-framed seats and loading them onto a lorry when he was caught by two policemen. The thief pleaded guilty to two charges; he was fined £50 for stealing metal worth £58 and £5 for stealing metal worth 8p.

Ten years after its closure as a cinema, an application for planning permission to build shops and offices on the Palace site was received from Mr Mitcheson of Finchley Road, London through an agent in Colwyn Bay.

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Before and after WWII, Mr William Gorrell worked as a projectionist at the Palace.

Author: Anon

The Palace Cinema"

Palace Cinema, Chester Road, Buckley

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