Former Stratford East Picture house to be transformed into children’s indoor activity park

An empty cinema building in Stratford is set to be turned into a children’s activity park.

Newham Council will lease the former Stratford East Picture house in Great Eastern Way to Oxygen Active play.

Proposals say the company will turn the building into an “indoor activity park for families including a café, trampolining, climbing and soft play activities”.

Stratford East Picture house closed in July 2024 after running for 30 years.

The council owns the building’s freehold and spends an estimated £21,500 a month on business rates and 24-hour security for the empty building.

But council leaders voted today (Thursday 23rd) to lease the site to Oxygen Active play for 15 years.

Proposals say the activity centre will employ up to 70 people, estimated to be mostly from Newham, on pay 15% higher than the national living wage.

They also say predict it will attract 300,000 visitors a year.

The council is keeping details of the lease, including its value, confidential along with details of all the bids it received.

But details made public say that Oxygen Active play’s offer was “significantly higher” than other bids.

They say the lease was marketed to 108 companies, and advertised on social media.

They also say the contract includes a “rent free period” and that a previous preferred bidder had pulled out “following further inspections and financial viability assessment”.

Speaking at today’s cabinet meeting, Newham’s Labour mayor Rokhsana Fiaz said it would take more than three months “to make the building site, the property, empty for the contractor to come in and fit out”.

She asked officers to explain the risks involved and how these would be mitigated.

Corporate director of economy Paul Kitson said the bids “would all have included different financial proposals, different rent free proposals”.

He added: “It was clear, having looked at the proposed rent free periods all the other suggestions made by the bidders, that this proposed use was by far and away the best economic value.”

However, Labour councillor and cabinet member Sarah Ruiz said she was “not satisfied” with some of the confidential information.

Fiaz closed the meeting to the press and public so that the cabinet could discuss the information behind closed doors.

After discussions in private the cabinet, including Cllr Ruiz, voted to approve the lease.