17th January 2025
Spalding’s fire-damaged former cinema and bingo hall to go under the hammer as redevelopment opportunity
The former Savoy Cinema in Spalding, which, with a 1,500-person seating capacity, was Lincolnshire’s largest cinema when it opened in 1937, is to go up for auction this month with a guide price of £250,000-£270,000.
Converted to a bingo hall after audiences declined in the 1970s, the imposing building was damaged extensively by a fire in 2021 and has since remained disused.
Now the 15,000 sq ft cinema, which stands on a 0.7 acre site, is being offered for sale by joint auctioneers SDL Property Auctions and Eddisons Peterborough.
The auctioneers believe the building would be suitable for redevelopment and South Holland District Council has confirmed it would support proposals for a mixed-use commercial and residential scheme on the site. The Westlode Street property is close to the town centre, within Spalding’s conservation area.
The building is due to appear among over 225 other properties and plots of land in the next online live-streamed auction to be held by SDL Property Auctions, part of Eddisons, on Thursday 30th January. Andrew Parker, auctioneer and partner at SDL Property Auctions, said: “This was once a splendid building that was a real asset to the town of Spalding and it has been disused and unloved for over three years since the fire.
“It would be great to see an imaginative mixed-use scheme bring the site back to life, perhaps retaining the original 1930s art-deco façade. Needless to say, the council’s support for a redevelopment scheme makes this a fantastic investment opportunity.”
He added: “Spalding has so much going for it, with its historic town centre, picturesque river views and surrounding fenland countryside. It is also just 20 minutes by train from Peterborough and an hour and a half from London.”
For more information about the former cinema in Spalding, or to register to bid remotely online, on the phone or by proxy, click here. The auction, will be live streamed online on Thursday 30th January, with bidder registration closing at 5pm on Wednesday 29th January.