Haddonstone Adds The Crowning Glory To The Historic Grade II* Former Granada Cinema

Architectural cast stone specialist Haddonstone, has restored key stonework features on the newly restored former Granada Cinema Building, recently reopened in May 2025 and operating as Soho Theatre Walthamstow. Since the opening of the original Victoria Music Hall in 1887, the site has been home to a variety of entertainment genres.

Soho Theatre Walthamstow - photography courtesy of David Levene

In 1930, following a complete development, the Music Hall Granada Chain Cinema Variety opened as a cinema and performance venue which, during the 1950s and 1960s, hosted stars of the moment including Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Who and The Rolling Stones. The site was granted Grade II*-listed status by English Heritage in 1987 and added to the Theatres-at-Risk Register 2015.

Waltham Forest Council purchased the building in 2019, a legacy commitment as the Mayor of London's first Borough of Culture. The council led an originally budgeted £30m for the restoration of this historic venue in Walthamstow. It has transformed the building into a landmark cultural multi-use venue with four units, one of which is operated by Soho Theatre Walthamstow,, a vibrant 960-seat live performance space. 

Returning the building to its former glory while introducing modern cultural features; it offers a variety of live performances, including comedy, theatre and music, along with a host of community-focused events.

The venue also features three bars, a restaurant, and studio spaces, enriching the local community's cultural landscape. The collaboration, led by Waltham Forest Council, with Historic England, conservation specialists, experts and Soho Theatre ensures that the space serves as a hub for both local residents and visitors.

With a Historic England's Building at Risk Repairs Grant in place, Haddonstone's expertise was called upon to preserve and restore key architectural features; the experts supplied bespoke string courses, cornices, and coping to the Dutch gable of the building. A new motif was created to reflect the original scroll detail of the gable and all the stonework was crafted from wet-cast limestone in Portland colour, ensuring a  seamless blend of new and historic materials.

The need to preserve historical accuracy while adapting the building for today, required careful consideration and collaboration. The use of cast stone was integral in overcoming these challenges, allowing Haddonstone to replicate the ornate detailing of the original architecture and blend it with new structural elements.

The new scroll motif after casting: and once installed on the Dutch gable of the building

The project's success was a testament to the skillful integration of traditional craftsmanship and modern restoration techniques, ensuring that this beloved heritage landmark will continue to serve the community for many years to come.

Cllr Rosalind Doré, Cabinet member for Libraries, Culture and Sports and Leisure said: "We are delighted to announce the revival of our iconic venue, which embodies our vision from Waltham Forest as a vibrant ‘cultural neighbourhood'. This investment not only enriches our community but also strengthens our commitment to creating an economy that benefits everyone."

"As part of the London Borough of Culture 2019 legacy, we are dedicated to placing culture at the heart of our borough, enhancing the local evening and night-time economy while supporting our businesses and residents." For further information, call 01604 770711 or visit www.haddonstone.com

FP McCann Offsite Precast Concrete Cross-Wall And Architectural Cladding System Specified On Birmingham Residential Development

FP McCann has recently completed a precast concrete structural and architectural supply and install project for Birmingham based residential property developer, Prosperity Group. The £35 million JQ Rise development consists of 226 modern apartments in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter.

Encompassing three blocks of four, eight and 25 storeys, the building is a landmark feature retaining a facing red brick aspect, a typical characteristic of the immediate surrounding urban environment. Adopting Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), the structural precast concrete internal cross-wall design and external architectural sandwich panel cladding system has been manufactured offsite and installed by FP McCann, a Tier 2 BIM Level 2 certified supplier.

As on all such contracts undertaken by FP McCann, BIM Execution Plans (BEP) were prepared for the Prosperity JQ Rise development, demonstrating FP McCann’s proposed approach, capabilities, capacity and competence to meet stringent Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR). The FP McCann precast structural solution comprises precast concrete core and party walls, prestressed hollowcore flooring planks, lift cores, precast stair cores and stair landings. Integral to the structural design are the architectural brick-faced insulated sandwich panels offering an attractive red and blue/grey external finish to the building on all levels.

Precast concrete columns and beams have been installed at the ground floor level to carry the walls above. Internal structural walls range from 180mm to 300mm, with hollowcore flooring typically 250mm thick. The external architectural wall panel’s inner structural leaf is generally 180mm thick with a 50mm depth “Traditional English Red” and “Ketley Blue” brick facing backed by 80mm of concrete and insulation to achieve the required u-values.

An additional design feature of the architectural cladding panels is the red dogtooth brickwork projection, flush with the external face of the sandwich panel. Many other MMC features include brick slips on column sides and front faces, soffits on beams, and the fair face finish on internal walls, allowing follow-on trades to complete their work in a timely and efficient manner. The accelerated construction time typically seen in such offsite precast concrete structural builds saw the JQ Rise project completed in just 56 weeks.

Commenting on the JQ Rise residential development, Project Manager Anthony Grant for Prosperity Group says, “Reducing construction times by 40%-60% compared to traditional build methods must be factored into addressing such residential developments on brownfield urban locations. Traditional construction methods, while tried and tested, are increasingly inadequate to meet the soaring demand for quality, affordable housing.

The JQ Rise housing project clearly demonstrates that offsite construction and MMC in urban locations help address the current housing challenge and lay the groundwork for a more efficient and sustainable home-building sector. By embracing these methods, we can build faster, reduce our environmental impact and provide quality, affordable living space.”

Mark McCann, Director at FP McCann, adds, “We’ve been delighted to partner with Prosperity Group on this excellent project. It is a great showpiece scheme right in the centre of Birmingham, one with unique features that help elevate the value JQ Rise creates for the city and local area." www.fpmccann.co.uk

Family Hub Choses Style Again for Folding Partitioning Wall

Christchurch Family Hub provides essential, early support for local families. In 2003, Style installed a folding wall with pass-door to enable the Hub to divide its main activity and family room into two separate areas, as and when needed. Twenty-two years on and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council again contacted Style, this time to replace the old wall with a modern system with enhanced operation and improved acoustics.

Finished in a beech laminate, the new Dorma Huppe Variflex moveable wall is smooth and lightweight to manoeuvre, allowing the space to be easily opened up, or divided into two rooms, many times a day. If preferred, the dividing wall can be left in place for extended periods thanks to an integrated pass-door and, with a 49dB acoustic rating, activities can comfortably take place either side of the wall undisturbed.

“The original wall at the Christchurch Family Hub lasted over two decades, with regular servicing and maintenance from our after-care support team,” said Michael Porter, Style’s group managing director. “The fact that it continued to deliver smooth operation for such a long time is testimony to the quality of the original installation and also to the expertise of our technicians.”

Style’s after-care service team offers tailored maintenance plans to suit each customer’s unique site requirements, from one-off visits to fixed annual contracts. Fully accredited and experts in health and safety compliance, Style engineers are trained to work on all moveable walls, including automatic and semi-automatic systems.

The Variflex system installed at the Christchurch Family Hub brings improved acoustics and the latest operational features. One such benefit that is particularly relevant for this busy activity centre, is that the Variflex panels are manufactured separately to frame. This means that the individual panel linings can be easily changed if one should become scuffed or damaged, saving a considerable amount of money compared to replacing the entire wall. www.style-partitions.co.uk