Forty years ago this month, the direction of British cinema was changed forever with the opening of the UK’s first American-style multiplex, The Point in Milton Keynes. Looming over Midsummer Boulevard, the Point’s mirrored glass ziggurat and red pyramid frame boldly synthesize Mayan and Egyptian motifs into a high-tech temple of futuristic bliss. As well as 10 screens (which featured Back to the Future, The Goonies, and My Beautiful Laundrette proceedings), there were bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and even cup holders on the seats, an unimaginable novelty for the time.
Today, with its cinemas long closed, this 1980s superstar is under threat of demolition, caught in a dispute between local campaigners, politicians and heritage groups trying to preserve it, and developers trying to demolish it for a highly criticized new housing scheme.
“The Point is the most historically significant cinema built in Britain since the Golden Age of the 1930s and its pyramid is the undisputed landmark of Milton Keynes”, says Ollie Marshall, campaign director of the Twentieth Century Society, which aims to preserve notable British buildings. “Remarkably, only one post-war cinema in Britain is listed (the 1960s Curzon in London’s Mayfair). It’s time we changed that.”
By the mid-1980s British cinema attendances were at a historically low level, with the number of cinemas falling from approximately 4,800 at the start of the Second World War to 660 in 1984. As the largest and most ambitious of the post-war new cities, Milton Keynes was seen as the ideal location for a bold new experiment by the US AMC cinema chain. Commissioned to create a showstopper, architects BDP and Neil Tibbalds went gangbusters with a building that was a brilliant blend of funfair and temple.
Cinemas were still built on high streets, which were often dirty and dilapidated. The Point brought them out into the open, encapsulating them as an exciting new kind of entertainment experience. As a shot of commercial and architectural adrenaline, it revived British cinema-going, welcoming over a million visitors in its first year, and inspiring the subsequent proliferation of multiplexes. By 1991, there were 41 cinema screens across the country, comprising a quarter of all cinema screens in Britain.
Yet since its heady heyday, Point is now on the rocks, a victim of changing fashions, consumer expectations and greedy rivals. The decline began around 2000 following the arrival of the huge Xscape leisure complex in Milton Keynes containing a 16-screen cinema, indoor ski slope, shops, restaurants and a casino. The Point was effectively “out-pointed” and since then, it has suffered through changes of owners and operators. Its cinemas closed for the last time in February 2015.
In the interim, the building provided a home for a local youth charity, while grassroots campaigners launched petitions and crowdfunders in an attempt to save it, emphasizing its community value, unique design and historic status. Bingo provided a temporary commercial salvation, but the Covid pandemic proved unstoppable and The Point closed for good in 2020.
It has now been acquired by Galliard Homes, which plans to demolish it and build new housing on the site, but the original £150m offer was unanimously rejected by Milton Keynes city councilors in July 2024. Galliard appealed and has since received approval to develop a 21-storey apartment block containing 487 flats.
Responding to the news, the council’s Labor leader, Peter Marland, said the decision showed “complete disregard for the city’s unique heritage” and that the proposed plan was “terrible in almost every way”, citing the lack of affordable homes, “poor design” and “identical flats”. He added: “The Point is as important to the people of Milton Keynes as the Liver Building is to the people of Liverpool or St Paul’s to Londoners. Just because it is new does not mean it is less important.”
Milton Keynes Council is now seeking legal advice to challenge the planning appeal, while Historic England is assessing whether The Point should be listed, which would give it a measure of protection. Currently, it is subject to an immunity certificate, which prevents it from being listed, but this expires next year.
Emily Darlington, MP for Milton Keynes Central, said: “Although the site has become derelict in recent years, the complete demolition of The Point would cause significant damage 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’s hard to see what use it could be, but as Marty McFly said 40 years ago, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
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