COULD the silver screen hold the key to reviving the golden age of Hadleigh?

Castle Point Council has announced the former Crown pub could be turned into a cinema as part of regeneration plans for the town.

The now-closed drinking spot, which is more than 200 years old, is seen as the focus point of plans for the town centre and two boutique cinema firms have approached the authority expressing an interest in the building.

Other proposals include turning it into a family restaurant.

Pam Challis, leader of the council, made the announcement as the authority struck a deal with owners MCC Developments for the pub site in High Street.

She said: “We have had a number of approaches – one option could be both a restaurant and a cinema.

“First of all we need to find out what Hadleigh’s residents want to see there, then we will consider the possibilities.

“The important thing is we’ve purchased the site and we can preserve it for leisure and community use.”

Mrs Challis said the price paid for the pub was commercially sensitive, as the council could decide to sell it in the future.

She also confirmed that whatever use is chosen for the site, the original building will not be knocked down.

Cinema owner James Parkin feels a cinema in Hadleigh would have to specialise in less mainstream pictures.

Mr Parkin, who owns the Movie Starr Cinema on Canvey, said: “People in Hadleigh go to Southend for the cinema. I’m not sure if there’s enough demand and the Crown hasn’t got any parking.

“There might be a demand for more arty films there, but it’s pretty difficult to make that work financially.

“If one did open, I wouldn’t be surprised if they resorted to the blockbusters fairly quickly.”

Punch Taverns closed the Crown in 2009 and sold the site to MCC Developments for £400,000.

Plans to turn it into a KFC were abandoned following a public outcry.

The council-led Castle Point Regeneration Partnership began negotiations to buy the Crown last spring and part of the cash for the pub will come from a £175,000 grant from Essex County Council.

Mrs Challis added: “It’s a great example of partnership work involving all tiers of government.

“We will now be working to bring this much-loved building back into public use as soon as possible.”

Plans to overhaul Hadleigh town centre are taking shape. The Crown, Hadleigh Library and the recently renovated Hadleigh fire station make up a large chunk of publicly-owned land between London Road and High Street.

One possibility is to sell the whole area as one package to a developer, however, Mrs Challis said any proposals must be for community and leisure use.