Glasgow would not have allowed one of its oldest independent cinemas to "go under", its council leader has said.

Edinburgh Filmhouse, the venue for the world's longest continually running film festival, closed in October last year after its parent company, The Centre for Moving Image (CMI) went into administration.

The B-listed building which housed the cinema was sold in April for £2.65m to Caledonian Heritable, owners of the city's Theatre Royal.

The council said the firm is now in discussions with a potential new operator for the cinema.

Edinburgh Filmhouse opened in 1979 in a building that dates from 1831 and was originally a church. 

Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) occupies a B-listed building on Rose Street, which first opened as a cinema in 1939.

Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council said she, "couldn't imagine any circumstances" where the local authority would have allowed the GFT to suffer a similar fate to its Edinburgh counterpart.

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"I have to say, I think I can be confident that we would not allow to happen to the GFT what happened to the filmhouse in Edinburgh," said Cllr Aitken.

The Herald:

"I can't imagine a situation where we would want the GFT to go under.

She added: "It's doing very well, I don't want to imply that they need rescued."

Admissions to screenings at the GFT's annual film festival in March increased by 25% this year, on 2022.

The leader of Scotland's largest local authority was discussing plans to revitalise Glasgow's 'Golden Z' area in the city centre which covers Argyle Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street.

The GFT will form part of a new 'Avenue of the Arts' which will celebrate the cultural attractions on Sauchiehall Street from the Mitchell Library to the Royal Concert Hall.

Glasgow City Council will publish a draft strategy later this month detailing plans to future-proof the city centre's most profitable streets.

Cllr Aitken said one focus would be the repurposing of vacant buildings and sites that have eroded the appearance of Sauchiehall Street.

She said: "You've got the Conservatoire, the Pavillion, the Theatre Royal, the GFT, Glasgow School of Art, the Piping Centre and the Concert Hall....this incredible stretch of cultural assets.

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"There's been a lot of discussion with partners about how we use these cultural assets to build a future for Sauchiehall Street or that stretch of the city and look at h we revitalise and repurpose some of the vacant buidings along that stretch.

"Clearly the BHS site is a key site. The other site where the fire was is also key. We don't have ownership of either of them.

"There's work to be done around getting funding and getting control over those sites."

The plans are part of a long-term strategy for Glasgow city centre, which will see an expansion of the Avenues project which has created cycle lanes and improved pedestrian access on Sauchiehall Street.

It aims to create more homes and family-friendly green spaces with less focus on retail and a wider mix of 'experiences'.

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Buchanan Galleries and the St Enoch Centre are both earmarked for demolition, to be replaced by shops, restaurants and flats.

The council is keen to explore the use of Compulsary Sales Orders (CSOs) to help reduce the number of vacant properties in the city centre.

It would mean owners could be forced to sell if they do not invest, repair or restore properties.

Cllr Aitken said it was a measure the Scottish Government was keen to explore.

She said: "It is very challenging.

"What we have got at the moment is buildings that we don't own and we have very little power in terms of being able to compel owners to do something.

"We don't own those buildings, we don't have legal rights to do anything with them."

She also addressed concerns, which have escalated in recent weeks, that Glasgow city centre is down on its heel.

She said the city was attracting more private investment than it had in decades and weekend and evening footfall is now higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Councillor Val Walker, Edinburgh's Culture and Communities Convener said: "We are clear in our commitment to maintaining 88 Lothian Road as a world-class hub for independent, cultural cinema.

"We have been working closely with our partners at Creative Scotland/Screen Scotland, the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise on forging a sustainable path forward for this Edinburgh institution, and spiritual home of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. 

“The proposed new operators being considered by the building owners are Filmhouse Edinburgh Ltd (FEL) which has recently applied for and been granted charitable status."