Fears that Stafford's Sandonia Cinema may be bulldozed

Campaigners successfully stopped the demolition of The Sandonia in Sandon Road in Stafford last year after a plan to build houses was withdrawn.

However, conservationist Neil Thomas contacted the Express & Star when he noticed machines had moved back on the site.

He said: “We cannot allow the Sandonia to be knocked down. I understand the area could do with redevelopment but we should keep the facade as it is part of our history.

“There are a lot of people who care about the Sandonia and Stafford’s heritage. We do not want to wake up one morning and it's disappeared.”

The Sandonia opened as a theatre in 1920 and was converted to a cinema three years later, although it continued to stage live shows.

It became a bingo hall in 1962, and was later used as a snooker hall before its closure about 20 years ago and has been abandoned ever since, prompting some local residents to brand it an “eyesore”.

The cinema's owner David Parker told the Express & Star there will be no demolition of the cinema until they get permission from Stafford Council.

He said: "We have not moved demolition machines onto the site.

"We will wait until we get permission to demolish the site, we cannot keep the facade as we are not building apartments but instead are building affordable houses with gardens."

Jack Pearce started the Save Our Sandonia campaign group in 2020 and is determined not to lose the building to history. He said: “Our main objective is to prevent the demolition of the Sandonia. Currently the building has no planning protections, which could be implemented by Historic England or Stafford Borough Council.”