 THE first purpose-built cinema in Liverpool is to be bulldozed and replaced with flats. Councillors gave the go-ahead for the demolition of the one-time Bedford Hall picture house, in Walton, despite last-ditch pleas to save it. The cinema opened on Boxing Day, 1908, about two years before aboom in the movie industry led to a string of public theatres opening across the country. Cinema historians claim the picture house, in Bedford Road, is of national importance because it predates that building rush. But Liverpool city council's planning committee was told appeals to have it listed and saved for future generations have fallen on deaf ears. Councillors then backed a plan to bulldoze the building, now used as a furniture warehouse, and build a block of 22 flats. Heritage campaigner Florence Gersten said: "This is Liverpool's oldest purpose-built cinema and one of the oldest surviving in the country. Walton is lucky to have it. "It is a sturdy, attractive building and retains its many decorative features. "It makes a good furniture shop and there is no reason why it should not be used for this, apart from the fever for building flats and houses on every available bit of land. "Its demolition would be a real loss for this area, which has little of historic interest, apart from the parish church. "It seems strange for Liverpool to lose its oldest cinema, which would appear on a town trail anywhere else, so soon before Capital of Culture." Planning committee member Cllr Dave Irving added: "I think we should ask English Heritage to give us a definite yes or no on whether it can be listed. "I do not want people to look back in 30 or 40 years and say this was the committee that gave permission to pull down Liverpool's first cinema." But councillors were told a lengthy attempt to get the cinema protected had failed. Planning officer Feargal McAvoy said: "Over the last six or seven months, we have looked for English Heritage to list the building. "But of the 123 former cinemas in the country that are Grade I or II listed, it is about their interior quality - and this cinema's interior is largely gutted." | 
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