Bakewell, and actors Hugh Grant, Hayley Mills and Ian Richardson. Campaigners formed the Rex Film and Arts Centre Trust to put forward a number of commercial proposals for a leisure complex including cinema screens, a swimming pool and a pub. The dilapidated state of the Rex was discussed in the House of Commons; Tom Clarke of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to offer government subsidy for restoring the Rex, and the local MP Richard Page took the view that the Rex was now an eyesore and should be de-listed and demolished to make way for sheltered housing. Redevelopment and re-opening The proposal from property developer Nicholas King Homes, which envisaged building an apartment block around the cinema (replacing the neighbouring shop fronts) and converting the Rex foyer into a bar and restaurant, was successful, and conversion of the site began in 2000. In 2001, Hannaway won the contract to restore the cinema interior; with a team of volunteer workers, he pulled down the partition walls and restored the auditorium to single-screen function. The project applied unsuccessfully for National Lottery funding and instead raised funds by selling membership and asking supporters to sponsor a seat. Actor Bill Nighy was among the first to contribute to the effort. The dilapidated interior was restored to its 1930s glory and leased to Hannaway for use once more as a cinema. The cinema re-opened to the public in December 2004 with a screening of The Third Man, a film of particular significance as it was made during the heyday of the original Rex and the screenplay was by Berkhamsted writer Graham Greene. The re-opening of the Rex doors to the public was acclaimed by critics; the Daily Telegraph remarked in 2006 that the luxurious facilities of the Rex and notable lack of popcorn were "the cinematic equivalent of turning left on a long-haul flight" (a reference to flying first class), and suggested that the guest appearance by Dame Judi Dench had been overlooked by local media only because of the major Buncefield fire which occurred that day. After the success of the Rex restoration, Hannaway went on to a second cinema project. After a public campaign and fundraising scheme, he led a project to restore a derelict Art Deco cinema in nearby St Albans, which re-opened in November 2014 as the Odyssey Cinema, St Albans. Architecture The Rex was designed in a