Hull City Council is developing designs to transform the former National Picture Theatre, to support a bid that could secure a grant of £289,000 from the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
The building, in Beverley Road, is the north’s last surviving civilian bomb-damaged building from the Second World War.
Hull City Council will be responsible for the delivery of the scheme that will include the development of a second stage bid to the National Heritage Lottery Fund. The council secured a first stage grant in December 2018.
Following improvements to the National Picture Theatre, the proposals would see the National Civilian World War II Memorial Trust manage the site as a memorial to the impact the Second World War had on Hull.
This would be supported by a comprehensive educational and learning programme.
A Council contribution of £188,000 will serve as match funding required for the delivery of the project should the Council be successful with the second stage bid.
The former National Picture Theatre was designed by architects Runton and Barry for the De-Luxe Theatre Company and was constructed in 1914.
The building was badly damaged during a Luftwaffe air raid on 18 March 1941, although none of the 150 people inside the cinema at the time were killed or seriously injured.
The building has remained unused since then.
The former National Picture Theatre gained Grade II listed status in 2007 due to its significance as a rare surviving bomb-damaged building from the Blitz of the Second World War.
Air raids on Hull went on longer than on any other British city and, out of Hull’s 91,660 houses, only 5,945 survived the air raids undamaged.
