An ambitious plan to restore an old cinema has been left in ruins after the desired site was bought by another company.

Rob Richman, chairman of the Southfields Plaza Steering Group, which was formed with the sole purpose of acquiring and refurbishing the old picture house in Wimbledon Park Road, today revealed the site had been bought by Gresham Pension Trustees Limited for an undisclosed sum.

The bombshell came after the group made an offer of "above "2m" for the former Lyceum Cinema, which was bought in 1917. Mr Richman believes the building - more recently home to Rileys pool hall - will now be demolished "in the very near future".

In a message to group supporters, he said: "We are obviously very disappointed not to have acquired the site ourselves and wish to thank everyone who helped us during this stage.

"There was however a limit to the amount we could afford, even when taking into account the generous support of Southfields residents, before it became uneconomic to proceed further.

"Our difficulty is that a cinema/theatre does not maximise the value for the seller compared with other more profitable uses or those with a higher development density."

However, Mr Richman said he still hoped the steering group might be able to lease part of the new build in order to realise its dream.

According to the Southfields resident, he has been told by Indigo Planning - planning consultants appointed by Gresham - the aim is to create a residential led development with a leisure "component" on the ground floor.

He said: "Indigo also said that they are willing to consider a proposal from the Plaza Steering Group to lease the D2 (Assembly and Leisure) component provided it is economically attractive and we can be accommodated into their overall scheme.

"So although we will not be the owners of the site - we are just as committed to making sure that we get a magnificent cinema/theatre destination for Southfields on the site that will kick-start some wider improvements to our area."

He added: "So in summary we are cautiously optimistic. We are pleased that the site has a new owner willing to consult with the community and get things moving."

Neither Gresham Pension Trustees Limited nor Indigo Planning was available for comment today (Friday, August 8).

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