With the deadline for the construction to commence rapidly approaching, Hammerson once again filed for Certificate of Immunity.
It could be that Hammerson was unable to commence construction on the planning permission granted to them due to the impact of the Covid19 pandemic in 2020, however some individuals familiar with the process had already questioned Hammerson’s intentions, and instead suspected that it was simply a tool to facilitate the sale of The Point.
Regardless of the motivation, Historic England agreed that the Certificate of Immunity be granted. In a highly suspect move, Historic England chose to approach The Twentieth Century Society to provide the rebuttal of Hammerson’s application, despite being aware of The Cinema Theatre Association’s extensive work campaigning for the building previously.
In their response to the FOI request submitted, Historic England stated simply:
We are aware that there is strong local opinion over The Point and future development of the site. We have considered the claims of the building very carefully, but we have not been able to recommend statutory listing.
Historic England