Lease terms with Castle Cinema are still not agreed, the council said on 23 September, and it will name no opening date for Catford's cinema until they are signed.
Catford’s cinema has no opening date, and the council has stopped predicting one. Lease terms with the operator, Castle Cinema, “have not yet been agreed”, Cllr Daniel Dream told Full Council in a written answer on 23 September.
The answer replied to a question from Cllr Peter Bernards, the Labour and Co-operative member for Forest Hill. He asked why the opening had been “further delayed” (Member Questions, Council, 23 September 2026, question 6).
Cllr Dream is the Green cabinet member for inclusive regeneration, planning and housing delivery. He wrote: “The lease terms have not yet been agreed with the operator, Castle Cinema, which is delaying the opening. Active negotiations are currently underway.”
He added that the administration “remains warm and welcoming to Castle, who we hope to see open and thriving in Catford as soon as terms can be finalised”.
Why the summer date slipped
The council announced on 17 February that Castle Cinema had been confirmed as the operator for 32 Winslade Way, the former Catford Mews. The headline was “Catford’s cinema returns this summer” (Lewisham Council, 17 February 2026).
That release promised three screens, community space, a bar and a café. The main foyer off Winslade Way was to stay as a café and food-court space. Cllr James-J Walsh, then cabinet member for inclusive regeneration and planning, said the previous operator’s lease had been forfeited and that keeping a cinema on the site was “essential for Catford’s future”.
The announcement came less than three months before the local elections on 7 May, which brought a Green administration to the town hall. Cllr Dream’s answer says the promise rested on a heads of terms. He describes that as “a preliminary, non-binding document that sets out the broad commercial terms both parties intend to work towards, before the actual lease had been negotiated or signed”.
“Announcing an opening date on the strength of a heads of terms, while the substantive legal and commercial negotiations were still live, created an expectation in the community that the previous administration was not in a position to guarantee,” he wrote.
“No date for the cinema’s opening has been made by this administration, and going forward, I intend for this Council to only announce firm opening dates once lease terms have genuinely been agreed and signed.”
What Castle says
Castle Cinema’s own Catford page says it is “working towards opening in Autumn 2026” (The Castle Catford). It adds: “As is often the way with bringing a big building back to life, a few important things are taking a little longer than expected behind the scenes.”
The council’s own Catford town centre business plan, approved by Mayor and Cabinet on 9 September, also described the cinema as set to open in autumn 2026. We reported that plan, and its reliance on evening footfall, earlier this month.
Castle Cinema is an independent, crowd-funded operator founded in 2015, according to the February release. Its co-founder Asher Charman said then that the Catford venue would pair “a world-class film programme with a relaxed, welcoming bar and cafe”. The programme was to include parent-and-baby screenings, LGBTQ+ events and strands on Black cinema and local heritage.
What it means for you
- There is no opening date. The autumn target on Castle’s site is the operator’s aim, not a commitment from the landlord. Do not plan around it.
- The building is council-owned. 32 Winslade Way sits in the Catford Centre precinct, a short walk from Catford and Catford Bridge stations. Our parking in Lewisham page covers the town centre car parks.
- Updates come from Castle first. The council says it will only announce a date once the lease is signed. Castle’s newsletter at castlecatford.com is the place to register.
- The wider Catford plan leans on it. The business plan approved on 9 September counts the cinema among the draws for evening and weekend trade in the town centre. Every month without it is a month the plan runs short.
The council’s written answers were published with the agenda for the Full Council meeting of 23 September 2026. Minutes of the meeting had not been published when this article went live.
Sources
- Member Questions, Lewisham Council, 23 September 2026 (PDF) (question 6, Cllr Peter Bernards to Cllr Daniel Dream)
- Catford’s cinema returns this summer, Lewisham Council, 17 February 2026
- The Castle Catford (operator’s site, “working towards opening in Autumn 2026”)
- Full Council agenda, 23 September 2026
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