Reform UK’s Wokingham leader publicly backed plans to turn a derelict town-centre cinema into an Islamic centre

In July 2026 the Wokingham Islamic Centre exchanged contracts on the former Ritz cinema and bingo hall on Easthampstead Road, a 20,403 sq ft building roughly 150 metres from Peach Street shops. The group described the purchase as a “permanent home at last” and said it intended to convert the original 716-seat auditorium into a prayer hall, add an education hub for Quran classes, madrasah lessons, youth mentoring and community activities, and create a “vibrant community hub that benefits the whole town.”

The building opened as a cinema in 1937, served as a wartime gathering place, later became a bingo hall, and has stood empty since around 2019. Earlier permission to demolish it for 22 apartments expired after the previous owner went into liquidation. Local reporting noted that a change of use to a place of worship would still require planning consent covering parking and residential impact.

Colin Wright, who became Reform UK’s Wokingham chairman in June 2026, welcomed the news. He said the site was “an eyesore” that had been derelict for years, would never reopen as a cinema, and that bringing it back into use would draw more people into the town centre and help local businesses. “Nobody I know will have any issues with it at all,” he added. Conservative group leader Pauline Jorgensen said she had “no issues with a new mosque” but that any scheme would be judged on standard planning grounds.

By late July the centre had raised more than £300,000 and said it needed a further £407,000 by 31 August 2026 to complete the purchase. BBC coverage originally described the project as a mosque before later clarifying it as an Islamic centre that would include a dedicated place of worship. The comments from Wright later circulated on social media, including a post questioning why a local Reform UK figure had supported the scheme.