No last orders, please, for Edinburgh's Odeon, writes John Pelan

THE saga of the Odeon Cinema in Edinburgh's Clerk Street is sadly typical of the stories of countless historic buildings at risk.

THE saga of the Odeon Cinema in Edinburgh's Clerk Street is sadly typical of the stories of countless historic buildings at risk. When an old building, its architectural and historic significance acknowledged by listed status, falls into disuse and then disrepair, what is to be done? In some cases demolition may be the only option and last resort. In others, partial demolition with retention and restoration of period features may be the most realistic and least objectionable solution.

However, there are buildings where the least worst or least radical option is just not good enough; when those involved in the future of the threatened building need to go the extra mile to not only secure its future but to recognise its intrinsic value as a cultural and economic asset. It is widely acknowledged that Edinburgh's Odeon Cinema is such a building, where even the academic interest from historians and architectural conservationists is outmatched by the intensity of emotion felt by local people who remember it in its heyday.

The cinema, with its magnificent auditorium, studded with stars that represent the Milky Way and the biggest and most impressive proscenium arch in the country, has its deserved place in cinematic and local history since its opening in 1930. The most recent speculation concerning interest from Wetherspoons is just that, speculation, but it would surely not be in the interests of the majority to see such a landmark reduced to the ranks of the ubiquitous superpubs.

Those who have taken up the cudgels in defence of redeveloping the Odeon as a modern cinema or arts venue, with auditorium intact, could do worse than look at the restored Hippodrome Cinema in Bo'ness. The Hippodrome, which was commended in the Scottish Civic Trust My Place Awards in 2010, is an excellent example of how community engagement and involvement from an early stage can provide many unexpected benefits and generate a real sense of collective ownership and responsibility. The Odeon is a great civic building and it deserves a civic solution.

lJohn Pelan is director of Scottish Civic Trust.