A MAJOR cinema chain is expected to close another one of its branches in a key location and the local council is already drawing up plans for the new building.
The Odeon Cinema in Oxford city centre is due to close next year and residents have described it as “a tragic loss”.
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The cinema is expected to close when the lease runs out in September next year reports local media.
The Sun has reached out to Odeon for a comment.
Oxford City Council now plans to turn the building into a new hotel and community space.
In an attempt to persuade more tourists to stay overnight, the council plans for the five-storey building to have 145 rooms, a cafe and a bar.
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Residents were furious upon hearing the news and rushed online to share their frustration.
One resident said the plans were a: “Waste of money and space.”
“How many more hotels do we need in Oxford? What we need is homes,” declared another.
A third resident said: “That could easily have been 70 single-bedroom apartments for key workers.”
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A fourth said: “The loss of both cinemas is a tragic loss. Oxford deserves better.”
Another Odeon cinema in Oxford on Magdalen Street closed earlier this year, just seven months before its 100th anniversary.
Oxford City Council has said developers have committed to pay all staff working in the new proposed hotel the Oxford Living Wage.
A protest was held against the plans in July where residents described them as a “cultural wrecking ball”, according to local news reports.
Odeon has already closed five of its branches this year and the cinema chain admitted it was a difficult “decision.”
To find your nearest Odeon, make sure to use the branch locator tool on its website.
Tickets cost roughly £12.50 online, but that largely depends on where you live and whether you book them online or in person.
The movie chain recommends customers always book online first to save the most money.
Cinemas across the UK have been struggling, Cineworld which runs around 750 sites globally, filed for bankruptcy in the US last year.
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At the time, the future of the chain’s 129 UK and Irish cinemas looked to be at risk.
But the chain is now expected to borrow money to pay off an estimated $5billion worth of debts.
