Almost immediately after the Certificate of Immunity awarded to Hammerson to protect The Point from being listed expired, the Cinema Theatre Association (CTA) jumped into action.
By this stage, MK Council had already removed the final obstacles to granted planning permission to The Point for its demolition and redevlopment. That didn’t deter the CTA from compiling and submitting one of the most indepth defences of The Point to date, noting that the building was groundbreaking on many levels:
“It was featured … for the significant role it played in reinvigorating the cinema industry in the 1980s.”
“In terms of [architecture]… it illustrates both concepts of Archigram and the influence of American Architecture on buildings in Britain.”
“It was built by BDP … an experimental, idealistic and interdisciplanary practice…”
Cinema Theatre Association, 10 Jun 2019
Historic England assess applications on their historical and architectural merit rather than local popularity, and never before had a more robust and concise argument been put forward in defence of The Point and its place in British history.
But even this wasn’t enough, with Historic England apparently unwilling to even write a new conclusion on their advice report, instead copy and pasting verbatim the conclusion from their first advice report issued way back in 2012. Listed status was rejected again.
These documents were made available by Historic England (HE) via a Freedom of Information request submitted on 28th September 2020. Other attempts at listed status are also available for download.