Plans for a nine-screen cinema complex at Whiteley have been submitted to Winchester City Council – and a decision is expected to be made in May.
An artist impression of the Cineworld cinema at Whiteley
Developers have finalised their plans for the cinema – which will be operated by Cineworld – and now registered the application with the city council.
If approved, the cinema would be open until 12.30am from Monday to Thursday and until 2am on Fridays, Saturdays and those Sundays before a Bank Holiday Monday.
The Whiteley Co-Ownership Trust, which is behind the shopping centre redevelopment in Whiteley, has made a number of changes to the plans since a public consultation exercise last year, including reducing the height of the building and adding more trees to screen it from nearby houses.
The almost 30,000 sq ft multiplex – with 1,416 seats – would be built as part of phase two of the £64m renovation of the town centre.
The maximum height of the building has been reduced from 20m to 18.4m with trees up to 7m tall and hedgerows to surround the cinema to screen it from housing.
Its seating will range from the largest screen of 303 seats to the smallest with 57 seats.
Numerous residents at the consultation exhibition last November said the cinema was a good idea for all ages. But those living in Bluebell Way, near to the cinema’s access road, had concerns about traffic and the possible noise implications for their homes.
Having met with the city council’s design panel review, other changes that have been made by the Whiteley Co-Ownership Trust include reducing the height of the western elevation and covering the landscape with more vegetation, introducing a new landscaped pedestrian route to connect the venue to the residential area and a footpath link to the playing fields.
An acoustic fence will be established along the western boundary of the one-way car park – near Bluebell Way – to ensure that maximum night time noise levels in that area are in line with World Health Organisation recommendations.
If given the go-ahead by the city council, building work on the cinema could begin in February 2014 and be in operation by the Cineworld chain in May 2015.
Plans for the ground floor space of the multiplex have not yet been confirmed but could be available for a wide range of uses – such as further restaurants, bars and leisure and community uses, such as a crèche, health club, bowling or children’s indoor play facility.
The cinema operator wants to open from 8.30am to 12.30am Mondays to Thursdays and 8.30am to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, and on Sundays preceding a Bank Holiday. Doors will generally close at 1.30am.