Imax Demolition Party plan meeting (From Bournemouth Echo)

Imax Demolition Party plan meeting

7:00am Thursday 4th February 2010 in

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THE organisers of an Imax Demolition Party are planning a public meeting in a campaign to make sure the Waterfront building disappears.

The party was launched on Facebook two weeks ago and had signed up 641 supporters by yesterday – along with 141 signatures to an online petition.

That means the party’s online supporters probably outnumber the paying members of any of the political parties’ constituency branches locally.

Artist Graeme Sweetapple, 37, from Bournemouth, launched the group after the Daily Echo revealed that Bournemouth council planned to spend £7.5 million acquiring and “substantially demolishing” the Waterfront building, which contains the defunct giant-screen cinema.

“I thought it was about time we gauged public opinion on the issue and so far it’s been very successful,” he said.

Critics have said the council’s plan to bulldoze the building will effectively cost everyone in the borough £75 and be a waste of public money.

But Mr Sweetapple said: “If it comes to spending £7.5 million getting rid of a building like this, which is an absolute monstrosity, I think the generally shared opinion is most people would pay double to see it go.

“There are a lot worse things to spend the money on.”

NHS support worker Chris Davis, 33, of Lower Parkstone, who is also involved with the campaign, said: “Coming here as a child, part of the fun of coming down from the Royal Bath was seeing the sea.”

He said the view had been ruined by the Waterfont. “I just feel incensed by it,” he added.

“Just to get the view back, I would do anything. I would pay some money myself personally to help it,” he said.

The group plans a public meeting in the coming weeks. It will ask its supporters what should replace the Imax cinema, restaurants and clubs in the building.

As well as its Facebook presence, the group has a petition on the website Go Petition.