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14
Mar
What hope of cinema return to Ripon as Curzon hits back at claims?
On March 27, it will be 1,000 days since the Curzon closed its cinema in Ripon on July 1, 2023.
Its closure was softened by the promise of a sequel: before Curzon broadcast its last film, the property firm that owns the building said it had a new operator lined up who would continue to show films as part of a community project that also included a soft play area.
But since then, the North Street building has remained empty.
Residents want to know what has happened to the planned venture and businesses are concerned about the impact of such a prominent building being vacant and decaying for so long.
North Street
The problem is that Curzon’s lease on the building still has about a dozen years left.
Negotiations for an exit agreement between Sterne Properties, the local property firm that owns the site, and Curzon have been unsuccessfully.
Robert Sterne, director of Sterne Properties, told the Stray Ferret in November last year the two parties were closer than ever to reaching an agreement.
But with no sign of progress since then, Ripon City Council stepped in this week.
Councillor Andrew Williams said the property owners “can’t get any sense out of Curzon in terms of either getting a surrender of the premises or getting a sub-let under the current lease”.
Cllr Williams added:
I understand the Curzon lease still has something in the order of 12 or 13 years left to run and that’s a situation which can’t be left to continue in terms of the significant impact it’s having on North Street.
It is extremely frustrating because the owners of the building could put it back in use very quickly indeed.
Curzon are doing Ripon a disservice. They are effectively allowing that part of North Street to look unkempt.
Cllr Andrew Williams speaking at the meeting on March 9.
Councillors unanimously backed Cllr Williams’ proposal to “write in the strongest possible terms to their chief operating officer to ask them to get their finger out and engage properly with the landlords to exit the building and allow it to be brought back into use for people in the city”.
'Unreasonable terms'
Curzon, however, sees matters differently.
In a statement on Thursday, it said there was “a lack of clarity regarding Curzon’s exit”.
The statement added:
The post-pandemic changes to cinema-going habits meant the venue was no longer profitable for Curzon, a problem exacerbated by several new purpose-built cinemas opening in the area, spreading audiences too thinly for Ripon to thrive.
We are aware that another operator is interested in taking over the site, which we welcome and support. However, the terms proposed by Sterne Properties Limited fail to accurately reflect the post-pandemic shift in the rental market. Curzon is being asked to absorb unfair costs under what we consider to be unreasonable terms to facilitate this new tenant. We ask Sterne Properties to come to a more equitable compromise and share the financial burden caused by a completely unexpected disruption to the cinema business. This is something we have been able to agree with landlords at our other venues.
Asked to respond to Curzon’s comments, Mr Sterne said “it comes down the definition of reasonable”, adding:
“Curzon are miles away on where we are in terms of a settlement agreement. I don’t want to say much more at this stage. I’m still hopeful we can do a deal.”
There appears much to resolve.
The Stray Ferret previously reported that Curzon regarded its costly fit-out of the building as a valuable leasehold improvement “but we see it somewhat differently”.
He added Curzon was still responsible for repairs and alterations and could face a dilapidations claim at the end of its lease for deterioration to the property “so we are asking them to meet us somewhere in the middle”.
Ripon residents and businesses will be hoping it doesn’t take another 1,000 days for a resolution.
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