Landmark former Stourbridge cinema snapped up by property investor

A care home or retirement complex are among the options being considered for its future use.

The old Savoy Cinema in Lower High Street has sold for £350,000 after being put on the market at the end of last year.

The property contains a series of interlinked buildings which stretch onto Crown Lane and estate agents Walton and Hipkiss, which handled the sale, said there was a possibility for a mixed use development including shops.

The new owner is said to be in discussions with several 'interested parties' about the future of the site.

The historic building has not been used as a cinema for more than three decades and in recent years attracted controversy when it was the Heaven lap-dancing club. It has also been used for retail purposes and more recently was a health and fitness club.

Groups wanting to reopen the Savoy as a cinema had shown interest but it is now thought to be unlikely that will be the case.

Property expert Alan Knight, who is head of commercial at Walton and Hipkiss, said either a retirement complex or care facility were among the most likely uses for the building.

He said: "We sold it to a property investor who is looking at various options to redevelop the site.

"I don't think it will ever be used as a cinema again, they are looking at options and talking with the planning authority about what they can do with it. I think it will be predominantly residential or retirement living, possibly care, maybe with some commercial retail on the ground floor."

Mr Knight said the building had attracted significant interest due to its location in the heart of Stourbridge town centre. Although the sale has been completed he believes it will be at least a year before any work gets under way. He said it was possible the old cinema building could be demolished rather than converted.

He said: "We had a good level of interest and sold it for a pretty good figure. We had a number of offers.

"The investor has a lot of interested parties they are working with looking at alternative uses for the site."

The Savoy closed as a cinema in 1982. Its change to lap-dancing club Heaven attracted fierce criticism from local politicians, while an investigation was launched after claims it breached its licence were made in a Channel 4 documentary.