Bidders express interest in Wolverhampton's Light House cinema - but name may not stay

The much-loved venue was forced to close last year after three decades in the city due to "unsustainable" levels of debt.

Despite more than 6,600 people signing a petition to protest its closure, the iconic name could soon be lost to history.

Wolverhampton Council, the landlord, joined forces with property specialists, Bruton Knowles, to launch a call out for expressions of interest from independent cinema operators and other creative organisations.

After receiving the keys back from the previous tenants in February, the aim is for a new cinema or creative arts operator to take over the running of the two-screen, 6,625sqft space this summer.

The council has now confirmed that it has received "strong interest" from eight "experienced" operators about running the Grade II-listed Chubb Buildings.

These will be whittled down to a shortlist of bidders before a preferred cinema operator is selected.

However, it will ultimately be up to the selected developer to decide if they wish to run the venue under its original name or to rebrand it. This will become clearer during the ongoing assessment and interview process.

The landlord of the Chubb Buildings, MIA, oversee a range of businesses already within the buildings and have also been working closely with the council throughout the decision making.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, Wolverhampton Council cabinet member for visitor city, said: “The positive response we have had to our call out for expressions of interest shows there is a strong appetite for this city centre leisure opportunity.

“We are determined to bring the space back into use as a cinema, creative arts or performance space as quickly as possible with an operator that can provide a sustainable offer.

"Clearly, it’s already designed to be used as a cinema so we are particularly keen to speak to operators in this field whilst also keeping an open mind to other creative and cultural uses of this brilliant space.

“Whichever operator we select will further enhance our arts, culture and entertainment offer for residents and visitors to Wolverhampton.

“And as we’ve shown before, we’re prepared to offer ongoing support to operators – negotiable of course. Support will be dependent on seeing a commercially sound, sustainable and compelling case put forward.”

James Carey of Bruton Knowles added: “We have received a positive response, from suitably qualified cinema and entertainment experts.

"It’s been exciting to learn about their visions for the space and we look forward to hearing more about their plans in the coming weeks. We are confident of securing a great occupier for the benefit of Wolverhampton.”

The future of the cinema has previously sparked spats within Wolverhampton Council.

Conservative councillor Simon Bennett accused the authority of "washing their hands of any responsibility" when it came to saving the venue last year, after comments from the chief about pledging support for the new operators.

In a council meeting in March, Councillor Bennett said: "This Labour council is not interested in the arts and culture, so Labour is not working for Wolverhampton.

"How can any operator have any confidence in you as a landlord that they will be supported when required considering the lack of transparency on the current state of play and with the previous operators?"

However Councillor Simkins protested that the council had invested £330,000 into the Light House. He also said that there were 12 interested developers at the time in March.

Councillor Simkins said: "We were the biggest financial backer of the previous administration.

"What I can state in record time we've got 12 interested parties to get this back into use and that has got to be good for our city, we're bringing other assets to our city. We take culture really seriously."

Wolverhampton is currently one of the few cities in the country without a cinema in the city centre, with the nearest being in Bentley Bridge.