Milton Keynes rapper and former bouncer at The Point J4SON aka Jason Lawrence writes and throws everything into his track “No Point” protesting the pending demolition of the building.
Do we really need more high end shopping at the expense of our local communities? J4SON raps plenty of sense.
Barely a month after Iain Sear’s second attempt at listing, another local advocate also applied for listed status with Historic England.
We must preserve this iconic building and restore it to it’s former glory before it is lost forever.
Advocate for The Point MK, 24 Jul 2012
Historic England used the same advice report as that used to determine Attempt #2, and promptly declined the application.
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.
After listed status was rejected by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport in 2003, Iain Sear, the same passionate MK advocate was again applying to Historic England following the immediate threat of demolition presented by owner Hammerson, who submitted their first proposal for demolition of The Point.
Alongside the wider claims of its historic significance to the British cinema industry, Iain again noted that the building was one of our city’s most famous structures.
“A generation has grown up as Milton Keynes was built around them and they identify with The Point as a focal building … In the past 9 years The Point has remained an iconic building in Milton Keynes … it forms part of the heritage of the City Centre.”
Iain Sear, 17 Jun 2012
Historic England again declined the listing. Whilst mentioning its local interest, their accompanying advice report also stated that:
“…in terms of the history of cinema [multiplexes are] only a minor development in cinema design.”
“The ziggurat pyramid … has some claim to architectural interest for its eye-catching, commercially-orientated, function-driven design, but … was not built to a consistently high standard nor with high quality materials and detailing.”
“The building … has suffered from continual refurbishment.”
Historic England, 22 Feb 2013
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.
Largely unknown to the general public, the Cinema Theatre Association has worked tirelessly behind the scenes in its efforts to ensure the survival of The Point, collating more research and information on its development than perhaps any other.
As soon as The Point crossed the thirty year mark to be considered for listed status they filed arguably the most comprehensive defence of the buildings historic, cultural and architectural merits.
The Freedom of Information request did not return a decision letter for this application, but it’s formulaic and the answer well known – listed status denied.
These documents were made available by Historic England (HE) via a Freedom of Information request submitted on 13th January 2021. Further attempts at listed status were made over the years to follow.
This document appeared in our Freedom of Information request to Historic England, which although related to the request for a Certificate of Immunity a number of years later, doesn’t appear linked in any direct way.
The report titled Analysis of Architectural Quality and Potential for Listing was produced by the Richard Coleman Consultancy on behalf of owner Hammerson. The report reads as you might expect from something that has been commissioned and paid for; it lacks any integrity or diversity of opinion and features heavy bias on every page. The report may as well have been written by Hammerson themselves.
The report was likely produced in anticipation of objections and attempts at listing when submitting their outline planning application.
This document was made available by Historic England (HE) via a Freedom of Information request submitted on 13th January 2021. Attempts at listed status were made over the years to follow.
Iain Sear, a local resident of Milton Keynes perhaps foresaw the perils The Point faced long before anyone else in 2003. Following the closure of UCI cinema and the lacklustre performance of easyCinema, he approached English Heritage and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to obtain listed status.
“The Laser displays from the peak of The Point are one of my most vivid childhood memories.”
Iain Sear, 28 Jul 2003
DCMS responded that at less than 30 years of age the building was too new, nor was it under threat from any form of planning permission. Listed status was denied.
These documents were made available by Historic England (HE) via a Freedom of Information request submitted on 28th September 2020. Further attempts at listed status were made over the years to follow.
Back in 2003 MK Forum had already highlighted The Point as one of our city’s shining examples of architecture in comparison to some of the more garish structures in our city.
In the Forum’s 2018 New Town Heritage Register proposals it was recognised for both design and designer, its place on the townscape, innovation and influence, rarity and communal value – making it one of only four listings out of 219 in Milton Keynes to achieve a clean sweep.
Original article published in MK News, 19 March 2003
Newspaper clipping courtesy of Iain Sear
The Duchess of York attended the UK premiere of Harrison Ford’s Presumed Innocent on 27th September 1991, with a performance on the night by the Bradwell Silver Band no doubt proving to be the icing on the cake.
Meg Ryan and a raft of 80s celebrities, film makers and lucky Milton Keynes residents working their shift that night collected at The Point for world premiere of Inner Space for Children In Need on 26th November 1987.
Some have suggested that Meg Ryan might not have even realised where she was at the time, but never-the-less it was people like her that helped cement The Point as the destination for decades to come. If you’re reading Meg, you’re welcome back anytime.
The charity premiere of Rocky IV on 23rd January 1986 saw British celebrities from all walks of life descend upon the point. The multiplex was still a revolution in terms of British cinema, with nothing like it anywhere else in the country. Nothing like those hairstyles anymore either.