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The vision for Leicester Square, including a new hotel and casino. Picture: Jestico + Whiles. |
It’s the end for cinema as Leicester Square gambles on a casino
£200m proposals set to include hotel development
A CINEMA and theatre will make way for a casino and an 11-storey luxury hotel after Town Hall planners gave the green light for the Swiss Centre to be bulldozed.
The £200 million development will help transform the West End “into the gambling capital of the world”, according to West End ward councillor Ian Wilder.
He said the decision had signalled the council’s intent to build more hotels and casinos in the West End.
He said: “This is a major step forward for the restoration of Leicester Square and a big boost for tourism.
“We must move with the times. I am a big fan of casinos and hotels. It will drive out all the drunken louts I have witnessed over the years. The owners will not stand for it.”
He added: “Cinemas are not special. Why do people think that? We have to look to the future. Soon we will be watching videos through 3D glasses from the comfort of our homes – cinemas are not much fun.”
The plans, from Irish developers Mcaleer and Rushe, have crushed the 10-year-old dream of the Chinatown community. They had planned to build a two-storey ornate gate in Wardour Street.
The gate’s position was crucial after royal Feng Shui experts from Beijing ordered it must be positioned at the southern end of Wardour Street. But the Irish developers blocked the plans and priority has gone to a 194-bedroom hotel and the high rollers’ casino.
Cllr Wilder said: “You think we would abandon major project like this to build a gate?
“The Chinese community stand to be the biggest beneficiaries of the scheme.”
Designed as a showcase for Switzerland the prominent site – flanked by Leicester Square, Wardour Street, Lisle Street and Swiss Court – is home to the Swiss National Tourist Board and boasts the popular Glockenspiel.
In 1985 it was presented to the citizens of Westminster as a token of friendship between Switzerland and England.
The Town Hall has ordered the new developers to retain the famous clock at a cost of £750,000.
They have been forced to pay £350,000 towards community facilities, £450,000 towards “public realm” work in Leicester Square, and £1m to help build affordable homes in Westminster.
The developers have also pledged to pay for and maintain two CCTV cameras in Leicester Square costing £100,000. |
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