The George cinema is a project to revitalise and extend a category C listed art deco building in the heart of Portobello. Following a competitive process, Loader Monteith were selected to undertake a feasibility study to RIBA stage 2 to turn the presently unoccupied and dilapidated building into a thriving community asset at the heart of the town.

The aims of the project are:

• to create an excellent facility offering a platform for leisure, learning and employment in the context of the rapidly expanding population of portobello and its immediate environs.
• the restoration of an architecturally and culturally important listed building in the heart of a conservation area.
• a feasible plan for repair and rejuvenation of the building.
• a long term viability based on strategic partnerships forged with arts and education trusts and nearby universities.
• to create benefits to the local economy, helping to retain and recirculate money in the neighbourhood, both as an important location for evening entertainment and an attraction for visitors, but also through its purchasing power and role as a local employer.
• to create a facility which contributes to a sense of place and to social cohesion, fostering community well-being.

Work is presently ongoing, with a targeted completion of the feasibility stage in summer of 2024.