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The New Ritz Collective, The Ritz, South Street, Ilkeston (2026)

The New Ritz Collective is a community-led group working to turn The Ritz into a vibrant multi-purpose space for music, arts, events, creativity and community.

01/06/2026

We want to hear your Ritz memories! 🎬❤️

We’re fascinated by the stories people have shared so far, and we’d love to hear more.

Did you, or a relative, spend evenings at the bingo? Watch your first film there? Or perhaps you worked there and have memories from behind the scenes…

The photograph we're sharing today is of Richard Henshaw, Commissionaire at The Ritz. Commissionaires were a familiar sight at many cinemas, stationed at the entrance in their smart uniforms to welcome customers and manage queues. They were often the first person people saw when arriving at the cinema and helped make a night at The Ritz feel that little bit special.

If you have any old photos, tickets, programmes, newspaper cuttings or other memorabilia, we’d love to see them!

As we continue our work to secure a future for this iconic building, we’re keen to celebrate and preserve its past too. Every memory helps us build a picture of what The Ritz has meant to generations of local people.

Share your memories and photos in the comments or send us a message!

📸 Photo credit: David Roddis Collection, provided by the CTA Archive.

22/05/2026

Community campaigners who are keen to repurpose a town’s old bingo hall say that its removal from auction has given them hope.

20/05/2026

Wow, what a week it’s been…

In such a short space of time, over 600 people have followed our page, with hundreds more commenting, sharing and messaging us with ideas and support.

Thank you to every single person who has supported the project so far. The response from Ilkeston has truly been amazing to see ♥️

Today was due to be auction day for The Ritz, but the building was withdrawn from sale this morning. Whilst there’s still lots of unknowns, we are feeling hopeful about what comes next.

Behind the scenes, we’ve been working hard having conversations with the right people to build support for what we’re trying to achieve. We’re going to keep pushing forward and will share updates as things move along!

Just imagine people coming into town for indoor markets, live music, workshops, theatre, comedy nights and family events all under one roof…That’s the kind of future we want to explore for The Ritz.

Thank you again for all your support so far.

- The New Ritz Collective

13/05/2026

Hello Ilkeston!

Today marks a huge moment for The New Ritz Collective, and for Ilkeston.

For those who don’t know us, we are a newly formed local community group brought together by one shared belief: that The Ritz deserves a future at the heart of our town once again.

The building is currently due to go up for auction on 20th May, and whilst the auction may still go ahead, today we have officially submitted an application for The Ritz to be listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

This is a massive step forward!

If granted, ACV status would formally recognise the importance of The Ritz to the community and help protect its future. It also means any future sale of the building would need to take that status into account, and the people of Ilkeston would have the chance to bring the building back to life once again.

This is only the beginning, but it’s an exciting one.

Our vision is to see The Ritz restored and brought back into community use as a multi-purpose community space for Ilkeston. A place capable of supporting a wide range of activity, including:
- Live performances and theatre
- Music and comedy
- Film screenings
- Workshops and exhibitions
- Indoor markets and community events
- Private and community hire

We want to create a space that belongs to Ilkeston again.

The next steps will involve building community support, fundraising, exploring funding opportunities, and developing a sustainable future for the building. There is still a way to go, but today felt like the first real step towards something special.

Thank you to everyone who has supported, encouraged and believed in this idea already. And a huge thank you to Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust for their support with our mission.

Please follow the page, share this post, and help us shout about just how good the New Ritz could be for our town. ❤️

A website is currently in the works and more updates will follow very soon!

— The New Ritz Collective

Address

The Ritz, South Street
Ilkeston
DE75QT

Website

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The New Ritz Collective