Our beautiful multiplex: Milton Keynes council fights to save historic cinema The Point | Build

Forty years ago this month, British cinema was changed forever with the opening of The Point in Milton Keynes, the first American-style multiplex cinema in the UK. Looming over Midsummer Boulevard, the Point Hotel’s mirrored glass ziggurat and red pyramid frame boldly combine Mayan and Egyptian motifs in a high-tech, futuristic temple of pleasure. In addition to 10 screens (which opened for Back to the Future, The Goonies, and My Beautiful Laundrette routines), there were bars, restaurants, a nightclub, and even cup holders on the seats, an unimaginable novelty at the time.

Today, with cinemas long closed, this 1980s star is under threat of demolition, caught in a row between local activists, politicians and heritage groups trying to preserve it, and developers seeking to demolish it for a much-criticized new housing scheme.

“The Point is the most historically significant cinema built in Britain since the Gilded Age in the 1930s, and its pyramid is an undisputed Milton Keynes landmark,” says Ollie Marshall, campaigns director at the Twentieth Century Society, which aims to preserve iconic British buildings. “It is striking that there is only one listed post-war cinema in Britain (the 1960s Curzon Cinema in London’s Mayfair). It is time to change that.”

By the mid-1980s, British cinema was in historic decline, with the number of cinemas shrinking from around 4,800 at the start of World War II to 660 in 1984. As the largest and most ambitious of the new towns of the post-war period, Milton Keynes was seen as the ideal location for a bold new experiment by the American cinema chain AMC. Architects BDP and Neil Tibbalds were commissioned to create a stunning display, constructing a building that was an exuberant mixture of theme park and temple.

Cinemas had hitherto crept onto the main streets, often dirty and moldy. The Point brought them into the open, and it was hailed as an exciting new kind of entertainment experience. As a shot of commercial and architectural adrenaline, it revitalized British cinema, welcoming more than a million visitors in its first year and encouraging the subsequent proliferation of cinemas. By 1991, there were 41 cinemas across the country, containing a quarter of the UK’s cinema screens.

However, since its dizzying heyday, The Point is now on the rocks, a victim of changing fashions, consumer expectations and greedy competitors. The decline began around 2000, after the massive Xscape entertainment complex arrived in Milton Keynes, comprising a 16-screen cinema, an indoor ski slope, shops, restaurants and a casino. The point was effectively “out of signal range” and has since suffered a change of owners and operators. Cinemas closed for the last time in February 2015.

In the meantime, the building has served as home to local youth charities, while grassroots activists have launched petitions and crowdfunding groups in a bid to save it, emphasizing its community value, unique design and historic status. Bingo offered temporary business salvation, but the Covid pandemic proved insurmountable and in 2020 The Point closed for good.

Now it has been taken over by Galliard Homes, which plans to demolish it and build new housing on the site, but the original £150m proposal was unanimously rejected by Milton Keynes city councilors in July 2024. Galliard has appealed and has since been given approval to develop a 21-storey apartment building containing 487 apartments.

Reacting to the news, the council’s Labor leader, Peter Marland, said the decision showed a “total disregard for the city’s unique heritage” and that the proposed scheme was “horrible in almost every way”, citing its lack of affordable homes, “poor design” and “identical flats”. He added: “This point is as important to the people of Milton Keynes as the Liver Building is to the people of Liverpool or St Paul’s is to the people of London. Just because it’s newer doesn’t mean it’s any less important.”

Milton Keynes Council is now seeking legal advice on the planning appeal, while Historic England is assessing whether The Point should be listed, which would offer it a measure of protection. He is currently subject to an immunity certificate, which prevents him from being listed, but this certificate expires next year.

Emily Darlington, MP for Milton Keynes Central, said: “Although the site has fallen derelict in recent years, the complete demolition of The Point would be a significant loss to our local heritage assets. It holds a special place in the story of our new town, and in the memories of those who moved to Milton Keynes in the early years.”

If it survives, it is difficult to see what use could be found for it, but as Marty McFly said 40 years ago: “If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything.”