A UNIQUE piece of Withington's architectural and cultural history could be saved from demolition.

Cine City appeared doomed when Town Hall chiefs gave owner Mohammad Jamil permission to demolish the old building, much to the consternation of residents who feared yet another block of flats would take its place.

But now a glimmer of hope has appeared on the horizon after Mr Jamil agreed to put the demolition plans on hold to give people the chance to refurbish one of the first cinemas in Britain.

It was built as The Scala in 1912. On Wednesday, June 1, a meeting took place between Mr Jamil, owner of Arrows International Limited property developers, Roger Smith, chairman of Withington Civic Society, and representatives from the film industry, including the Commonwealth Film Festival (CFF), North West Films and Kino Films.

Mr Jamil said: "I love this building. It's beautiful. We are trying to save it in some way. I have got a kind of love affair with Withington village.

"We want to work with local people to achieve a happy medium, which is workable for everybody. We don't want to work against the grain, that's why we have involved the civic society."

Although the cinema, which was closed in July 2001, is in a sorry state of repair, it retains an air of faded grandeur, with many original features still intact like gold brocade seats, wall freezes, cornices and ceiling roses.

It would take many thousands of pounds to restore it to its former glory.

But following a tour of the site the feeling among delegates was that it should be preserved as either a cinema or music, theatre or general arts venue. Mr Jamil said he would be willing to lease or sell the building, or find space for arts in the new development.

Maria Ruban, of CFF, said: "It's depressing and upsetting really. I hadn't realised it had deteriorated so badly in such a short time. I'm intrigued as to why it has been left in this state. It shows how quickly things can fall apart if they are not maintained and loved."

Maria added that a campaign should be mounted to save the cinema, such as the one in London to preserve the Old Vic Theatre and Hackney Empire. She said costs could be kept to a minimum with community volunteers doing some of the work. Maria said: "It's such a good space and a charming building. I'd like to see it saved and used in some way. We can't let a beautiful design be ruined in this way. It has such status in Withington, it's a part of the culture.

"It would be terrible for it to be taken down and replaced with something you can get anywhere else in the city. It's important it stays as a cultural venue in Withington."

John Wojowski, of Kino Films, said: "If we had the money to buy it we would. It's in a worse state than I thought it would be.

"It needs a lot of money to completely strip it out. It needs a rich benefactor."

Withington Civic Society has already fought off plans to turn Cine City into a JD Wetherspoons pub but, if it cannot be saved this time, it will be bulldozed to make way for a five-storey building with covering 4,000 square feet on each floor.

The basement will contain an underground car park, retail space at ground level, and four floors will be turned over to residential apartments with a boiler room on the top floor.

• Write to the South Manchester Reporter and let us know about your views on the future of the Cine City site.