A BOUTIQUE cinema could soon be coming to Brentwood as part of the new William Hunter Way project.

Members of the projects working group recently heard from Tyrone Walker-Hebborn, who owns independent picture house Genesis Cinema, in Mile End, east London.

The boutique-style cinema features a kitchen and cafe, as well as sofas and armchairs for viewers to relax in while watching a film.

The five-screen cinema also shows world films and holds events such as poetry nights, and Mr Walker-Hebbron believes Brentwood is the kind of place where this sort of project would work.

He said: “It’s a real community centre. We do a lot of film events relating to artists, poetry nights, theatre nights. It’s much more than just an Odeon, which has a place, but it’s not the sort of thing we do.

He added: “I think because we’re independent we talk to our local community, we know our local community and we work very hard to put on the sort of things they want to see.”

Councillor Russell Quirk, who chairs the development’s working group, said: “We can potentially have a cinema in Brentwood that absolutely fits the Brentwood psyche, the Brentwood demographic, something that Brentwood wants.”

A public consultation run by the council at the end of last year asked residents what they wanted to see on the car park site.

A large portion of the 6,000 responses said they would still want to see a cinema on the site, similar to the plan which fell through at the beginning of last year, as well as a selection of high-quality shops, including the likes of Waitrose, and a multi-storey car park.

Building work on the William Hunter Way development could start by the end of this year. Councillors hope to appoint a project management company by April to see the project through.

Council leader Barry Aspinell said: “I can’t wait to see the designs.”