Catterick’s seven-screen Empire Cinema is opening tonight. There was a VIP event last night when the red carpet was rolled out outside but today the public will get to see inside for the first time.
General manager Dave Thomas is quoted in the D&S as saying it was good for the area. He said: “Before we opened the only alternative people in this area had if they wanted to go to a multiplex would be to drive upwards of an hour. It’s going to be great to welcome everyone in.”
If you’ve been down to the site recently you’ll have seen how the development is rapidly advancing. A lot of the ground work has been carried out, old buildings demolished and cleared, the security fencing is up and we can expect building to start appearing on the new, lower, horizon any day.
But what will it look like? This is the artists impression released by developers Kier.
Lingfield (Catterick) Ltd, the joint venture set up between Kier Property and Lingfield Securities in order to deliver the £25m new town centre for Catterick Garrison, has revealed the first glimpse of the cinema that will form the focal point of the scheme.
A glimpse of how the new Empire Cinema in Catterick Garrison’s new town centre will look Empire Cinemas will operate a state-of-the-art, seven-screen cinema on the site, which will bring a new era of entertainment for residents of Catterick and the surrounding area. The new cinema will lie at the heart of the larger retail and leisure development being built by Kier and Lingfield.
Contracts have already been exchanged on more than 80% of the retail space available to several well-known high street brands, including Next and Sports Direct, as well as popular food and drink operators including Pizza Express, Starbucks, Prezzo and Greene King. Tenant agreements for the remaining retail space are currently going through final legal proceedings.
In May 2014 the joint venture’s construction partner, Kier Construction, started work on the site, which is situated just a few miles from the A1 and at the heart of the town.
Mark Robinson, associate director for Kier Property, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Empire Cinemas on this exciting retail and leisure development in Catterick, which will bring a new era of entertainment, shopping and leisure facilities to the town and act as a hub for the community.
“This is a major development, which will create jobs and bring money into the local economy when it officially opens in summer 2015.”
Justin Ribbons, CEO of Empire Cinemas, added: “We’re thrilled to be a part of this redevelopment and to be the ones to bring a cinema to the residents of Catterick. Its opening will create jobs for local people and we also hope it will boost the local economy. We believe everyone should be able to enjoy film on the big screen, so we’re thrilled that Empire Cinemas is to make this possible.”
Another record month for the Richmond Noticeboard has been chalked up in March – 4,691 pages were viewed here on the blog, a rise from the previous month’s record of 3,792 views.
Of course, the major debate about the plans for the Catterick cinema which raged here as well as via social media attracted a lot of attention and the officer’s final report on the case for the planning approval was the most viewed story over the month too.
But aside from that big story, this month has seen significant increases in the number of people posting their events and other news at the Community Noticeboard. It’s now becoming an essential place to find out what’s on in the town. We’ll continue to develop it and would love to hear from any groups or organisations who would like to run their own free noticeboard area too.
On the social media site of things, we’ve seen many more people join us on the Facebook page and of course the Twitter stream @RichmondNyorks just keeps on growing – more than 748 followers.
* If you have anything to post up in the Richmond Noticeboard, please do feel free to add your own report, event or offer – we don’t have any self-appointed editors that you need to get approval from to publish here. Providing your notice is lawful, useful and relevant to people in the town, it’s very welcome. We’re still looking for help to keep the Richmond Noticeboard regularly updated and useful to everyone please do get in touch if you’d like to volunteer and join us.
The proposals for the seven screen cinema at Catterick Garrison is back before the planners on Tuesday night. And, for the second time, councillors are being advised to vote ‘yes’ or risk losing the opportunity for redevelopment.
Elected councillors on the planning committee failed to make a decision last month and instead deferred the plan for a month – something they can not repeatedly do as they are required by statute to deal with planning applications in a timely manner.
When they sit down at Mercury House this week, they will be told again by their officers with legal experience, that the application should go-ahead.
Before the vote last month, many councillors were lobbied by individuals and groups as part of a campaign against the proposals organised by The Station cinema which fears the competition.
More than 800 people have also cast a vote in our online poll, to date, the vast majority in favour of the scheme.
Summing up the situation, council officer Peter Featherstone says in his recommendation:
It has been made clear beyond any doubt that the proposed cinema is an integral anchor to delivery of the wider “Town Centre” development and binds together the other retail, leisure and restaurant elements. Although it was previously anticipated that a smaller cinema would form part of the “Town Centre” scheme, subsequent changes in circumstances that could not be foreseen mean that there is now no other way of bringing forward a cinema other than in this larger format and without this revised part of the scheme the key anchor occupiers for the “Town Centre” will be lost and the whole development will simply collapse.
That development is expected to generate up to 700 new full time equivalent jobs in addition to those that would arise during the construction phase. The development would also bring a range of other economic and sustainability benefits, both in its own right and to the wider Richmondshire area. If the “Town Centre” development did not go ahead, then it would set strategic growth for Richmondshire back by at least 5 years. This is an important material consideration to which very significant weight should be attached in determining the current application.
Whilst there are difficult and potentially conflicting issues and material considerations that have to be carefully taken into account and weighed In the balance in determining this application, the overall balance lies clearly in favour of supporting this scheme which would assist in fulfilling relevant policies of the Development Plan and accord with the National Planning Policy Framework.
You can read the full agenda, complete with the objections and support the council has received, below and catch up on all the twists and turns in our section dedicated to the cinema plans here.
The Station cinema has rejected a developer’s offer of compensation in an ongoing dispute over the creation of a new seven screen cinema in Catterick Garrison, according to Richmond Online.
In a report on its website today, ROL quotes Ian Hepworth, Deputy Chairman of The Station’s Board of Trustees explaining why they will not accept a £75,000 offer of support from Lingfield plc.
“Whilst the amount of money seems attractive, and we have a responsibility to look after the financial well-being of The Station, we cannot allow a donor to wield influence or offset their offer of a donation against a planning committee decision.”
Meanwhile, voters here are continuing to express their views – almost 800 people have taken part in our poll to date with the vast majority showing in favour of the proposed development.
It is expected that the plans will return to the next council planning meeting on April 1 although no agenda has yet been published.
The second sitting of the planning committee is required because councillors were split over whether or not to approve the cinema. You can recap on the full debate here.
Richmond councillors remain divided by an application from developers who want to build a seven-screen cinema instead of a previously approved five-screen theatre.
Developers said that the project cannot take place unless the council grants approval.
Those opposed argued that the scheme would take too much business away from The Station Cinema in Richmond, and theaters in surrounding towns.
Former Mayor, Councillor Stuart Parsons, voiced his opposition to the application, whilst several members of the council said that turning the proposal down would not be worth risking the potential 700 jobs made once the cinema is open.
This report and film was created by NCTJ Journalism student and Richmond resident Stewart Paterson.
After almost an hour of debate, the final decision about the proposal for a seven screen cinema at Catterick was put off for another month.
Although there was some support in the chamber for development, there wasn’t enough support to get the the proposal approved so an 11th hour move to allow another month of negotiation was agreed.
That vote followed some strenuous campaigning by the operators of The Station cinema , on the one hand, and the disclosure by developers that the entire Catterick Town Centre development with its 700 jobs would be lost to the district, on the other hand.
Our live stream at the meeting on Tuesday night has already provoked some early reaction on Twitter @RichmondNYorks among our readers who have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the development to date.
Do let us know what you think in the poll or via the comments.
If you need a refresh about the arguments presented for and against, take a look at the video here.
In the addition to the packed public gallery (so packed a one-in-one-out rule was imposed) there were also 26 people watching live on our livestream and at the time of posting this, 46 views have also been made of the video.
Lots on for Tuesday including the town’s first co-working event at as You Like It and tonight’s council planning meeting looking at the seven screen cinema plans.
Richmondshire’s council planners are recommending that the proposed new cinema at Catterick is given the go-ahead.
In the agenda issued today, officer Peter Featherstone lays out the level of objections the council received as well as The Station cinema operator’s (Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust) opposition and campaign against the increased size of the proposal.
He says:
Whilst there are difficult and potentially conflicting issues and material considerations that have to be carefully taken into consideration and weighed. In the balance in determining this application, the overall balance lies clearly in favour of supporting this scheme which would assist in fulfilling relevant policies of the Development Plan and accord with the National Planning Policy Framework.
The report also mentions that this particular development in its proposed revised form is anticipated to provide 15 full time and 15 part time jobs (23 fte jobs) would ‘undoubtedly support and enhance the economy of the Town Centre at Catterick Garrison with knock-on benefits for the settlement and wider area.’
The recommendation being put to elected members also includes the imposition of additional planning restrictions:
– the development not to commence in advance of, or in isolation from, the
remainder of the town centre scheme as previously approved;
– confirmation of the uses approved as part of the permission with restrictions
to preclude subsequent internal alterations following completion of the
development that would increase the number of approved cinema screens;
– submission and approval of a detailed scheme for sustainable building
design, construction and operation.
The report will be discussed by councillors at the next Planning Committee meeting at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 4 March in the Swale Meeting Room at Mercury House, Station Road.
Plans to build a seven screen cinema at Catterick have drawn a large number of written objections. Richmondshire council’s planning department received 150 objections and just two letters of support of the proposal.
The letter writing is at odds to the polling on this blog where the majority of people welcomed the idea and comes after a campaign by the management of the The Station asking supporters to object.
Of course it’s important to note that letters and polls don’t carry any legal weight. The councillors on the planning committee will need to base their final decision on planning reasons laid down by statute.
The councillors who sit on that committee are:
Jane Parlour (IND) (Chairman)
John Blackie (IND) (Vice-Chairman)
John Amsden (IND)
Angie Dale (IND)
Campbell Dawson (CON)
Tony Duff (CON)
Malcolm Gardner (IND)
Mick Griffiths (IND)
Rob Johnson (CON)
Ken Lambert (IND)
Keith Loadman (CON)
Ian Threlfall (CON)
Jimmy Wilson-Petch (CON)
Clive World (LDA)
The meeting where the application is due to be heard is scheduled for March 4. All council meetings are held in public and we’ll do our best to get along to film it for you to share too.
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