Security fears after vandals hit old cinema

Published on Wednesday 4 November 2009 08:55

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save a former B-listed cinema from demolition have called for better security after vandals broke into the historic building.

The empty Odeon building, on Clerk Street, was broken into after vandals kicked in a back door at the weekend.

A smashed statue from the building was later found dumped in a shopping trolley outside.

Passers-by discovered the damage on Saturday morning and police are now looking to trace a man seen in the area on Friday afternoon as part of their inquiries.

Campaigner Sana Bilgrami said: "I was walking past at about noon and saw the back gate on Buccleuch Street was broken so we called the police.

"One statue was lying broken in a shopping trolley and there were bits of plaster scattered on the ground outside."

Officers secured the building after checking it was empty.

Campaigners believe the building may have been broken into before and insist more should be done to protect the site, which has lain empty for years.

Its owners, Duddingston House Properties (DHP), controversially want to partly demolish it to make way for a boutique hotel.

Labour peer Lord Foulkes – a key campaigner for the restoration of the building – said: "I can completely understand these security concerns and share them. The building does not seem very secure."

DHP bought the Clerk Street site six years ago and insists its proposed hotel development is the only way to safeguard the building's future.

Its plans involve extensive renovation of the interior as well as the demolition of the cinema's B-listed auditorium.

But owing to great public opposition, the Scottish Government is now reviewing the case, with a decision expected soon.

Lord Foulkes said: "If it is decided the building's listed status should stay, then it cannot be demolished."

He added that he would call a meeting with culture minister Mike Russell to discuss other alternatives for the site not involving demolition.

A police spokesman confirmed officers attended a break-in at the cinema. He said: "Nothing was reported stolen. However, a door within had been vandalised. We are now keen to speak to a male seen around the area at 4:30pm on 30 October."

He is white, in his late-30s, medium to heavy build, clean-shaven with fair hair and using crutches.

A spokesman for DHP said the site had been secured since the break-in, but the issue was being looked into urgently.