"One of a kind" London cultural hub to be created at former vinyl record factory

A London regeneration specialist has today received permission to refurbish and transform a former record pressing plant into a cinema and community venue.

U+I, in collaboration with Really Local Group, has secured the green light from the London Borough of Hillingdon to repurpose the former EMI pressing plant at The Old Vinyl Factory, which created records by artists including The Beatles.

The site, which will be known as The Gramophone, will be transformed into a multi-screen cinema and mixed-use community venue, designed by Architecture Initiative.

As well as providing a four-screen cinema, The Gramophone will include a café/bar, ‘listening room’, recording studios, workspace and an interactive exhibition that celebrates the site’s history.

The Gramophone forms part of The Old Vinyl Factory ‘masterplan’, which features more than 750 homes, 550,000 sq ft of office space, an academy school and a portfolio of retail and leisure facilities.

Richard Upton, CEO at U+I, commented: “The Gramophone is an important part of The Old Vinyl Factory – as the final piece of the masterplan, this new cultural hub will benefit the local people of Hayes and attract visitors from across London.

“The scheme illustrates U+I’s commitment to heritage-led creative regeneration and we look forward to bringing this final element of a truly remarkable and historic site to life.”

Preston Benson, founder of Really Local Group, said: “The Gramophone provides such a unique opportunity to restore a piece of cultural history. We are thrilled to be a part of its redevelopment and operation.

“Not only will the venue champion the exceptional musical and industrial heritage of the site but it will also serve as a much-needed social hub for the area, which in our post pandemic world, will be more important than ever.

“Our venue will host an eclectic programme of arts and entertainment in an inclusive space and operate collaboratively with the local community.

“The Gramophone really is one of a kind and we hope that its legacy transcends future generations.”

Lee Mainwaring, design director at Architecture Initiative, added: “The Gramophone celebrates the heritage of the former EMI headquarters where so much ground-breaking music was created.

“The new building is positioned behind the retained, historic brick façade; conceptually, the new building is the vinyl sliding behind the record sleeve.

“The design of the exposed steel structure recalls the arm and stylus of a record player and the distinctive pattern of the façade features grooves from vinyl records that were once pressed on the site, magnified many times and reproduced in precast concrete panels.

“Together, we have developed a unique building that will provide flexible, creative and community spaces for Hayes and the wider London community.

“It has been a privilege to work on realising this vision to bring a cinema back to Hayes for the first time in 70 years and create an exciting piece of cultural infrastructure.”