Part 3 of the history of cinemas and entertainment in Laindon.
By the 1960s the Radion was facing the same problem as many small local cinemas across Britain: television had become a normal part of home life and audiences were falling. Former projectionist Michael Marchant later remembered screenings with only a handful of customers and believed the cinema had become financially difficult to sustain.
The Radion closed as a cinema on 3 February 1969. The final evening programme ended with the thriller Wait Until Dark, starring Audrey Hepburn. Its closure ended roughly forty years of continuous cinema history on Laindon High Road.
The cinema closed because film attendance and the economics of operating a small single-screen venue had deteriorated. The building itself was then demolished for a separate reason: major road works were planned for the High Road.
After the cinema closed, bingo continued for a short period before the Radion Bingo Club moved to a nearby community hall in Aston Road. The former cinema was demolished by early May 1969 because the site was required for the widening of High Road between Laindon Link and St Nicholas Lane. The scheme created two roundabouts and a section of dual carriageway.
The road works altered the area dramatically. A large car park later occupied land opposite New Century Road for many years before housing development changed that part of the High Road again.
A purpose-built Laindon Library opened on the former cinema site in March 2001. The library remains at 5–7 New Century Road and is still in public use, meaning the old Radion site continues to serve the local community even though its function is completely different.
Part of the cinema survived in an unexpected way. Seats from the Radion were reused for many years in the Basildon Arts Centre, later associated with the Towngate Theatre. Some were subsequently transferred to the grandstand at Basildon United's football ground at Gardiners Close.
The Radion is remembered not simply because Laindon once had a cinema, but because it acted as a shared community space for generations. Many people remember first dates, Saturday children's shows, film serials, carnival events, bingo, local staff and the distinctive building itself.