DESPITE announcements from pub chain giants Wetherspoon last year that all is going to plan and they were on track to deliver a new planning application to ensure work can start on the renovation of the State cinema building in Grays, concern is growing that by the time they get their act together irreparable damage will have been done to the Grade II* listed building.

The Cinema Theatre Association (CTA) is growing increasingly concerned for the future of the building, one of the few remaining cinemas of the late 1930s which survives almost unaltered.

In November last year the CTA, an organisation that promotes interest in all aspects of cinema buildings and who have a track record for saving former cinemas as well as advising on their continued use, asked why, two years after being given planning and listed building consent, pub chain JD Wetherspoon had not begun developing the State.

This prompted JD Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon to tell Nub News that his company were going to resubmit a revised planning application and to be "in a position to develop the site in 2021" when they would turn the State into "one of Wetherspoon's largest pubs, creating around a hundred jobs."

Four months on and the revised planning application has not materialised and it appears no work is being or has been carried out on the site, including much-needed repairs on the leaking roof.

"JD Wetherspoon need to live up to their responsibilities," says Richard Gray, Chair of the CTA Casework Committee. "They urgently need to commission immediate repairs on the roof to stop any further water penetration that could irrevocably damage an interior that has been listed Grade II* for a reason.

"We cannot understand why Wetherspoon are dragging their heels over this development, which could transform the centre of Grays and prove the impetus needed to regenerate the whole area.

"But the council also need to take their fair share of responsibility. It's all very well for the leader of Thurrock Council to claim that turning this iconic building into a Wetherspoon's will boost the economy of the borough and will show Thurrock is open for business, as he did after our last public intervention, but unless something happens soon his words are meaningless.

"In December, J D Wetherspoon stated they would spend £5 million on redeveloping the State. The CTA is seriously concerned that this may not be enough to carry out a sympathetic restoration.

"As we tentatively look forward to a post pandemic world where people will be desperate to return to normality, a converted former State cinema could be a hugely profitable venue. Both Wetherspoon and the local council have a responsibility to ensure that."

The concern of the CTS was expressed les than 24 hours after the pub chain made a statement saying it planned to invest £895 million to upgrade pubs as well as open new ones in a move it said will create 22,000 jobs.

However, founder and chairman Tim Martin, who has given his personal backing to the State scheme, warned that this "is conditional on the UK opening back up again on a long-term basis, with no further lockdowns or the constant changing of rules."

In the first phase of this plan, Wetherspoon will invest £145m in building 18 new pubs plus extending and upgrading 57 current ones, creating some 2,000 jobs.

These will be in Leeds, Birmingham, Newport Pagnell, Heswall, Sheffield, Felixstowe, Dublin, Haverfordwest, Carmarthen and Glasgow.

Its next step will include investing another £750m to open 15 new pubs and expand 50 existing pubs each year for ten years. It believes this will result in 20,000 new jobs.

The company is keen to start the development project within weeks of its pubs reopening fully, it said. Its shares were up roughly 1% on Tuesday morning.

The State timeline

1938 Originally planned and built as the Roxy cinema, the State opened with the showing of the film The Hurricane staring Dorothy Lamour

1939 to 1945 - World War II The cinema survived throughout the second world war and sustained no major damage except for a crack in one of the interior pillars from a nearby bomb. A 25lb anti aircraft gun was mounted to the tower of the State

1975 Mecca Leisure acquired the building and showed the X rated film, The Man from Hong Kong

1985 The Mecca ran the cinema until the mid 80s, showing blockbusters such as Ghostbusters and Star Wars. The Last film Mecca screened was Gremlins.

1986 Robins Cinema reopened the State under new management, with the opening film, Back to the Future

1988 The State celebrated its 50th anniversary

1989 November 30th - The cinema closed.

1993 It was opened once again but as a Charlestones nightspot, an up market wine bar and night club.

1998 A sequence was shot in the cinema for the film 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' starring Bob Hoskins

2000 The State was reclassified as a grade II listed building by English Heritage.

2001 The cinema and car parking was sold to Morrisons, with promises of restoration.

2015 J D Wetherspoons bought the site.

2018 Thurrock's planning committee approved plans (refs: 17/01616/FUL and 17/01617/LBC) by J D Wetherspoon to convert the State into one of the largest pubs in the Wetherspoon chain.