The restoration of the Regal Cinema in Highams Park has slipped by roughly six months, with the developer citing this summer's extreme temperatures. The Hale End Road site is now expected to open in spring 2028, rather than the autumn 2027 date previously targeted.
The scheme, on site since early 2026, will turn the historic building into 33 flats, a café bar and a restored art-deco cinema with two screens of 80 to 90 seats each.
The delay comes down to a hard physical limit rather than a scheduling choice. Bal Chima, director of Mammoth Capital, explained: "You cannot pour structural concrete above 32C without compromising its strength – we won't bake weaknesses into foundations meant to last another century."
The ground itself has proved awkward too. Foundation work uncovered several different foundation types left behind by the building's successive lives as a cinema, bingo hall, snooker hall and nightclub, which meant the structural plans had to be redesigned. To keep the original 1935 art-deco façade standing, Mammoth Capital has built an 8-inch reinforced concrete wall against the existing brickwork.
The building first opened in 1911 as the Highams Park Electric Theatre and closed as a cinema in 1963.
Who will actually run the screens is still open. Mammoth Capital is reviewing bids from several independent cinema operators, among them Castle Cinema, an independent filmhouse in Hackney.
On the residential side, the 33 flats are priced from £350,000, rising to around £750,000 for the penthouses.
