Council hopes CPO will kick-start regeneration on key route
HULL City Council plans to move forward with the regeneration of a key route in the city after issuing a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the National Picture Theatre.
The proposal is for the Grade II-listed building to become a World War II memorial, managed by the National Civilian World War Two Memorial Trust, while the council can kick-start regeneration in the area.
The regeneration of Beverley Road, one of the busiest roads in Hull, and the city on a wider scale is a key priority for the council and it is hoped the CPO will give a new lease of life to the area where the former bombed-out cinema is located.
The site is of significant historical importance to the city as it is the only standing bombed out building to have survived The Blitz and has remained intact of its original condition after the blast.
Leader of Hull City Council, Cllr Stephen Brady, said: “We want to help bring forward future developments and planning committee took the necessary action in order to improve the Listed building and in turn the surrounding area.
“We don’t want to hold back the revival of this key route into the city and the council will only use its CPO powers as a last resort, but it remains our preference to try and reach an earlier agreement with the affected parties wherever possible.”
Hull City Council has taken the decision to issue a compulsory purchase order for the National Picture Theatre on Beverley Road in order to kick-start regeneration works on one of the busiest roads in the city.
The council’s planning committee had originally requested more detail on the funding and already agreed in principle to use compulsory purchase powers to buy the site, pending further information that the heritage trust’s preservation plans were financially sound.
