AN HISTORIC Cinema is set to be demolished after a court order was made on the site.

Owners of the former Palladium Cinema in Oswaldtwistle said that it was impossible to restore the dilapidated building.

Council bosses said they were dismayed that the old cinema had to be knocked down but said there was little choice if that area of Union Road was to be revived.

The 1,000-seat Palladium, which opened in 1934, was targeted by arsonists in 2004 and had been in a poor state ever since.

Hyndburn Council served a notice on the owners of the Palladium Cinema requiring them to make substantial repairs to the building.

But in response the owners have now decided to demolish the building.

The cinema and former bingo hall is listed on Cinema Treasures, a website that aims to protect historic and under-treat theatres.

Council leader Peter Britcliffe said: “We have been working very hard to regenerate Union Road and the Palladium Cinema, which is, of course, a landmark building.

“But it has become so dilapidated that there would appear to be no alternative but to demolish it.

“I am sure residents will be sorry to see this building go because, like me, they will have happy memories of the place.

“But they will still be happy to know that this eyesore area is to be regenerated.”

He said he the council would recommend that the site was landscaped.

Mike Booth, the chairman of the Oswaldtwistle Civic Society, said: “The state that the building has been allowed to get in to means there is very little option but to demolish.

“This project can help smarten up a very important part of town because of its proximity to Oswaldtwistle Mills.”