The derelict Roxy complex in Birkirkara. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Dozens of objections flooded in on Monday to plans to demolish the Roxy Cinema in Birkirkara, which is earmarked for development into an office and retail complex.

Built in 1931, the 800-seat art deco cinema in Fleur-de-Lys Road was once one of the most popular entertainment spots in Birkirkara and one of many cinemas of its type dotted around the island, few of which still survive.

The Roxy closed in 1968 before reopening as a bar called the Roxy Hall, but it has been derelict for years and is now in a very poor state of repair.

Plans by Charles Ellul of Portica Estates, approved in 2012 and now up for renewal, will retain the architecturally significant facade but demolish the rest of the building to construct a new commercial complex, a community centre, apartments and garages.

Read: Movie buff to the rescue of old cinemas

Ahead of the deadline for representations on Monday night, more than 60 people submitted objections to the Planning Authority, calling for the expired permit not to be renewed and for the cinema to be preserved and restored.

“The Roxy is a unique surviving art deco cinema, it lies in an Urban Conservation Area, it forms an integral part of a homogeneous period streetscape, and it is of architectural, contextual, social and cultural heritage significance,” one objector wrote.

Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar and the Cinema Heritage Group are also objecting to the renewal.

The application has yet to be assessed by the Planning Directorate

The application has yet to be assessed by the Planning Directorate, which will forward a recommendation to the Planning Authority board, with a decision not expected before April.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has requested a method statement for the retention of the facades before commenting further on the request for renewal.

The plans approved in 2012 included a bank guarantee of €23,000 to ensure the preservation and restoration of the main facade, as well as a separate guarantee of €12,000 for the retention of the facade abutting the Station Garden, which is to be integrated in the new development.