New project for the man behind Berkhamsted's Rex Cinema

The man behind The Rex Cinema in Berkhamsted has purchased a second derelict art deco picture house. 

James Hannaway hopes to raise the £3 million needed to restore the The Odeon in London Road, St Albans to its former glory.

The entrepreneur revived The Rex in Berkhamsted in its original 1930s style after more than 16 years of neglect.

He has purchased the Odeon from Mike Moult's Wattsdown Developments, who put it up for sale more than a year ago with planning permission for 14 luxury flats and basement parking.

James said: "After nine months of lengthy start-stop negotiations and 14 years of an uncertain future, The Odeon is finally in the hopefully-safe hands of The Rex.

"All we need is £3 million or so to bring it back to life."

James is now beginning a fundraising campaign to generate enough money to begin the restoration, and hopes to exchange contracts on the site in early 2010.

Investors are expected to supply one-third of the funds but, based on the restoration costs of The Rex eight years ago, James estimate that the Odeon will cost around £3 million to complete.

He said: "It is bigger than The Rex. Added to which, its complicated conversion to four screens in the 1970s makes it less straightforward.

"I am most grateful to Mike Moult for forgoing the opportunity to build. Instead he has entrusted the site to us to see it returned to a cinema once more. This is a huge and gallant move on his part after all his work to secure the site for development.

"We could not talk about this nor mount a fundraising campaign before reaching this agreement with Wattsdown. The timing is not great. Christmas will inevitably get in the way. However, there no time to waste in raising the money to buy and restore the site.

"It is now our job to see it through and make it work. But we can only do this with support."

Public support for the restoration of the Odeon is already high, with an online petition and a Facebook group attracting thousands of members.

Anyone interested in learning more about the project is invited to a public meeting at The Rex on Sunday, November 29, at 12.30pm.

James will outline his plans for the Odeon and invite investments, donations and the same kind of advanced first year membership scheme offered during the early days of The Rex. 

His intention is to operate the cinema along the same lines as The Rex, using one screen to show the best classic films and new releases from all over the world.

The Rex celebrates the fifth anniversary of its reopening next month.