The Arzner: LGBTQ+ cinema proposed for Bermondsey Square
This week councillors will decide on a licence application to reopen the former cinema in Bermondsey Square as a venue with a focus on LGBTQ+ film.
Southwark's licensing sub-committee is due to meet on Thursday to consider a licence application for The Arzner.
The 48-seater Kino Bermondsey cinema closed in January 2023.
The cinema - originally Shortwave - was a key selling point of the Bermondsey Square development.
Earlier this year a planning application to allow the cinema space to be used for other commercial purposes was withdrawn by the building's landlords after council planners advised it was likely to be rejected.
Now one the team behind the recent reinvention of Harper Road's Rising Sun pub as The Rising - an LGBTQ+ focussed bar - has applied for a licence for the vacant Bermondsey Square space.
"I know the cinema is supported by cross party local elected representatives and forms a part of the objectives of providing a diverse cultural offer in the borough, especially given we’re focusing on LGBTQ+ film, in a borough that has lost almost all of the LGBTQ+ spaces open to the community," wrote owner Simon Burke in a submission to council officers.
The council has received three objections to the licence application, one from the Bermondsey Square Recognised Tenants Association and two from individual residents. The residents ask for restrictions on opening hours, live music and smoking to prevent disturbance.
