Bromsgrove to get 5-screen cinema on Market Hall site

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BROMSGROVE is to get its very own five-screen cinema as part of a multi-million pound plan to transform the former Market Hall site.

The Standard reported last January there were plans for a picture house to be at the heart of the town centre development and the district council confirmed it this week.

The proposal for the 1.78-acre site will also incorporate shops and a restaurant and see the Spadesbourne Brook being opened up and redirected to make it a feature of the town centre boundary.

Bromsgrove District Council has appointed private firm Opus Land to help develop the site and the detailed application will be submitted in January.

The authority has also confirmed it is in advanced negotiations with a retailer for the site, but is remaining tight-lipped until a deal is signed, sealed and delivered.

Bromsgrove District Council leader Roger Hollingworth said: “This marks a massive step in the right direction of our plans to create a better Bromsgrove.

“While demolishing the market hall caused controversy, I hope everyone can now see the bigger picture.

“Not only will new retail and leisure development be a much needed facility in Bromsgrove, the rest of the district will benefit from this investment and the jobs it will create.”

Gareth Williams, development director at Opus Land, which is backed and part-owned by Palmer Capital, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed as the preferred developer by Bromsgrove District Council.

“This is a sensitive but excellent site in the town centre.

"We intend to develop a scheme that will enhance the retail and leisure offer by creating something of quality benefiting this historic market town.”

The development should be completed by Spring 2014.

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