It is intended that the renovation of the Brunswick Shopping Centre in Scarborough into a multiplex theatre would stimulate the town’s nighttime economy.
The venue’s change of use was granted by planners last week, paving the way for a multimillion-pound redevelopment project.
Plans are for the transformation of the commercial centre into a movie, leisure, and retail complex that might include restaurants and bars.
Councilwoman Jane Mortimer believes it will benefit other small merchants in the city.
Scarborough Group International, a prominent property regeneration expert, proposed the multimillion-pound makeover proposal after acquiring the centre in September 2021.
Plans indicate that the cinema will occupy up to 2,700 square metres of the centre’s about 14,000 square metres.
The theatre is suggested to be open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, and until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
A cinema operator has not yet been announced, at which point the cinema’s size and number of screens will be determined.
Local councillors on the borough’s [planning committee] supported the change of use for the building during a meeting last week, with some stating that the shift is positive for the town’s nighttime economy.
Among them is Councilwoman Roberta Swiers
Since its opening in the 1990s, the “largely deserted” Brunswick shopping mall has suffered a fall in commerce and tenants, and councillors hope the proposal would “revitalise” the town centre.
The leader of Scarborough Council, Cllr. Steve Siddons, stated to the Local Democracy Reporting Service following the decision:
“I am ecstatic, and I believe that this decision was made at the perfect moment.
“Like everyone else, we’ve experienced a downturn in retail and town centre activity, and this is what will bring it back, especially the early evening economy, which has been sorely absent.”