Repairs To Historic Cinema’s Leaky Roof Restarts

When Boris Johnson introduced the coronavirus lockdown at the end of March, contractors working on the roof of Clevedon’s Historic Curzon Cinema had to down tools and temporarily abandon the job.

However, now some restrictions have been eased, work on the leaky roof has restarted, reports the Bristol Post.

Curzon CEO Suzannah Shaw said: “We had no choice but to stop the work in March when the Government lockdown came into force. Our contractors will be working within the strict COVID-19 guidelines.”

The repair job involves replacing decaying timbers on the top floor of the cinema, followed by replacing the rainwater goods, then finally, replacing all the 12,380 terracotta tiles.

Work initially began on the Grade II listed building back in February, with an estimated cost of £600,000, but costs for the project have increased, leaving staff and volunteers needed to find an extra £30,000

Mrs Shaw added: “Some money has already come in but we are still around £25,000 short. We will have also incurred some additional costs due to the work having to stop and start due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

Cursor launched a ‘Tag a Tile’ fundraising campaign, that has seen 750 tiles already being tagged, but more people are still needed to get involved.

Mrs Shaw: “With 748 tiles tagged and ready to go up, there are still many, many tiles stored for people to create an amazing message for the future: People can also visit our website to donate and use the donation point at the front of the cinema.”

Issues with the leaky roof reached crisis point in December 2019 when water began coming into the auditorium. This caused damage to the ornate tin panelling in the cinema, and caused concerns for the long term future of the cinema is at risk without an urgent, full roof restoration.

The work on the cinema, which first opened in 1912 is expected to continue until the autumn.

If you need insulating roofing sheets, contact us today.