{"id":4037,"date":"2011-04-12T11:00:01","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T10:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/?p=4037"},"modified":"2011-04-12T14:22:59","modified_gmt":"2011-04-12T13:22:59","slug":"streatham-struggles-to-keep-its-leisure-and-entertainment-venues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/streatham-struggles-to-keep-its-leisure-and-entertainment-venues\/","title":{"rendered":"Streatham struggles to keep its leisure and entertainment venues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-13.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Things aren&#8217;t looking too good for Streatham residents at the moment, with the High Road peppered with closed down swimming baths, cinema and clubs.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-01.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been providing entertainment for the south Londoners for 80 years, but this famous Streatham\u00a0\u00a0ice rink will be closing its doors soon, with the site to be flattened as part of a controversial Tesco superstore project, called the Streatham Hub [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lambeth.gov.uk\/Services\/Environment\/Regeneration\/FutureLambeth\/StreathamHubLeisureDevelopment.htm\" target=\"_blank\">See Lambeth plans<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-02.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Locals were originally promised that the ice rink would stay open while a new\u00a0rink and leisure centre was constructed &#8211; thus\u00a0ensuring\u00a0that ice skating facilities would always be available to locals.<\/p>\n<p>After some shaky sounding\u00a0shenanigans,\u00a0this guarantee suddenly evaporated, so that the current building will be demolished and a temporary rink built in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/brixton-station-road-car-park-to-become-ice-rink\/\">Popes Rd, Brixton<\/a>,\u00a0ostensibly\u00a0for three years (but everyone suspects it&#8217;ll be around for a lot longer than that).<\/p>\n<p>Brixton market traders <a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban75.net\/vbulletin\/threads\/342853-Ice-Rink-Brixton-Market-decision-day?highlight=streatham\" target=\"_blank\">were incensed with the proposals too<\/a>, arguing that the temporary rink would take over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/brixton-market-lockdown-traders-protest-against-proposed-car-park-closure\/\">much-needed car parking space<\/a> in the centre of Brixton.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-03.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Although\u00a0skaters have every right to be deeply\u00a0annoyed, The Evening Standard managed to put a particularly\u00a0cataclysmic\u00a0spin on events, predicting <a href=\"http:\/\/lydall.standard.co.uk\/2011\/02\/saga-of-streatham-ice-rink-could-leave-council-with-blood-on-its-hands.html\" target=\"_blank\">rivers of blood<\/a> as a result of the move to Brixton.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-04.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-05.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Right next to the doomed ice rink is the\u00a0dilapidated Streatham Leisure Centre,\u00a0which\u00a0has been<a href=\"http:\/\/www.streathamguardian.co.uk\/news\/4759708.Streatham_leisure_centre_closes_until_further_notice\/\" target=\"_blank\"> boarded up since November 2009<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-06.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-07.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Opening on 14th November 1938 and originally called The Regal, this stunning Art Deco cinema was designed by William Riddle Glen, Associated British Cinemas in-house architect, and featured a beautiful double staircase.<\/p>\n<p>Renamed the ABC in 1960, this grand picture house closed in December 2000. Squatters briefly moved in and put on some banging rave parties before the inevitable arrival of developers and conversion into flats. [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.streathampulse.com\/2011\/03\/17\/streathams-old-regal-abc-cinema\/\" target=\"_blank\">More info<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-14.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Regal in happier days. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0046889\/\" target=\"_blank\">Dambusters film<\/a> dates this picture to around 1955.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-08.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once furnished with a large,\u00a0flamboyant\u00a0 sculpture of four Roman Chariot\u00a0horses over the entrance canopy, plans to demolish and redevelop the site of \u00a0Ceasars nightclub and\u00a0Streatham Megabowl <a href=\"http:\/\/www.southlondonpress.co.uk\/News.cfm?id=30845&amp;headline=Year%27s%20delay%20for%20Streatham%20Megabowl\" target=\"_blank\">have stalled<\/a>, leaving locals to gaze at a particularly tatty facade.<\/p>\n<p>Discuss the development plans here:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban75.net\/vbulletin\/threads\/242599-Redeveloping-the-Megabowl-and-Caesars-Streatham\" target=\"_blank\">Redeveloping the Megabowl and Caesars &#8211; Streatham<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-09.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-10.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-11.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Megabowl is also\u00a0boarded\u00a0up as it <a href=\"http:\/\/www.southlondonpress.co.uk\/News.cfm?id=30845&amp;headline=Year%27s%20delay%20for%20Streatham%20Megabowl\" target=\"_blank\">awaits its (oft-delayed) fate<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/streatham-closing-down-2011-12.jpg\" alt=\"Streatham's ever diminishing entertainment options\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban75.net\/vbulletin\/threads\/346865-Streatham-High-Road-littered-with-closed-venues-and-leisure-facilities....\" target=\"_blank\">Discuss Streatham&#8217;s\u00a0plight\u00a0on our bulletin boards.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Things aren&#8217;t looking too good for Streatham residents at the moment, with the High Road peppered with closed down swimming baths, cinema and clubs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,196,194,193],"tags":[342,146,222],"class_list":["post-4037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brixton","category-nightlife","category-london-features","category-places","tag-brixton-market","tag-cinema","tag-streatham"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/streatham-closing-down-2011-13.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pQI7P-137","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4037"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4050,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4037\/revisions\/4050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}