News: Rotherham's new cinema - what we know so far
National urban regenerator, Muse Developments, has provided an update on the new cinema at its Forge Island leisure scheme in Rotherham town centre that is slated to open in 2024.
The Arc Cinema signed a long-term lease with Muse in 2021 to become the leisure anchor at Rotherham's Forge Island. Construction work got underway last year after Rotherham Council stepped in to fund the scheme when the funding available to delivery partner, Muse, "significantly reduced."
Plans were approved in 2020 for the scheme which will also include a new Travelodge hotel and six food and drink outlets, which are already fully let.
Positioned at the south of the former home of the Rotherham Forge & Rolling Mills, the design of the cinema looked to the strong industrial heritage of the site which was historically home to a foundry and an iron works. The cinema design incorporates a saw-tooth roof profile with a metal cap and a robust brick podium base.
A 340 space car park is also in the plans.
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The cinema is set to be an 8-screen boutique style cinema with initial plans for the 25,000 sq ft building showing five screens with between 125 and 143 seats and three smaller screens of between 50 and 83 seats.
Arc Cinemas are known for their top-class facilities at 12 locations spanning across the UK and Ireland. The new location at Forge Island will be no exception. Every seat will be a comfortable, leather, electric recliner with plenty of legroom, providing a luxury experience but at an affordable price.
Operators now say that the Rotherham cinema will have two flagship Hypersense screens, including Dolby Atmos sound, a giant screen and a 4K Laser projector – which creates a truly immersive experience. Additionally, it will also have six medium-sized screens that provide an intimate atmosphere for smaller showings – perfect for Arc's popular events like ‘Silver Screen’ and ‘Kids club’ which will be launching in Rotherham.
Last year, the operator applied for a premises licence, covering 8:00am to 3:00am to enable the cinema to stay open late to enable die hard film fans to watch new releases at midnight on the day they open. Up to 12 events per year for these cinema "all-nighters" were requested.
Prices at Arc Cinema in Beeston range from £2.95 for Kid's Club showings, to £7.00 for concessions and up to £10.50 for adults at peak times. Showings in the Hypersense screens are charged at the standard ticket price + £2.50. Family tickets are £30 for a family of four.
Brian Gilligan, director at Irish firm, Melcorpo, which runs The Arc Cinema, said: "At The Arc Cinema, we believe everyone should get to experience the magic of the movies on the big screen. Unfortunately, Rotherham has been underserved of cinema facilities for so long, with the nearest cinema over in Sheffield. We’re excited to open in Forge Island next year and bring something new to the town and make it easier for locals to experience movies how they were intended to be seen."
Cannon, the last town centre cinema, closed in 1990.
Arc Cinema website
Forge Island website
Muse Developments website
Images: Muse / Arc Cinemas
The Arc Cinema signed a long-term lease with Muse in 2021 to become the leisure anchor at Rotherham's Forge Island. Construction work got underway last year after Rotherham Council stepped in to fund the scheme when the funding available to delivery partner, Muse, "significantly reduced."
Plans were approved in 2020 for the scheme which will also include a new Travelodge hotel and six food and drink outlets, which are already fully let.
Positioned at the south of the former home of the Rotherham Forge & Rolling Mills, the design of the cinema looked to the strong industrial heritage of the site which was historically home to a foundry and an iron works. The cinema design incorporates a saw-tooth roof profile with a metal cap and a robust brick podium base.
A 340 space car park is also in the plans.
Advertisement
The cinema is set to be an 8-screen boutique style cinema with initial plans for the 25,000 sq ft building showing five screens with between 125 and 143 seats and three smaller screens of between 50 and 83 seats.
Arc Cinemas are known for their top-class facilities at 12 locations spanning across the UK and Ireland. The new location at Forge Island will be no exception. Every seat will be a comfortable, leather, electric recliner with plenty of legroom, providing a luxury experience but at an affordable price.
Operators now say that the Rotherham cinema will have two flagship Hypersense screens, including Dolby Atmos sound, a giant screen and a 4K Laser projector – which creates a truly immersive experience. Additionally, it will also have six medium-sized screens that provide an intimate atmosphere for smaller showings – perfect for Arc's popular events like ‘Silver Screen’ and ‘Kids club’ which will be launching in Rotherham.
Last year, the operator applied for a premises licence, covering 8:00am to 3:00am to enable the cinema to stay open late to enable die hard film fans to watch new releases at midnight on the day they open. Up to 12 events per year for these cinema "all-nighters" were requested.
Prices at Arc Cinema in Beeston range from £2.95 for Kid's Club showings, to £7.00 for concessions and up to £10.50 for adults at peak times. Showings in the Hypersense screens are charged at the standard ticket price + £2.50. Family tickets are £30 for a family of four.
Brian Gilligan, director at Irish firm, Melcorpo, which runs The Arc Cinema, said: "At The Arc Cinema, we believe everyone should get to experience the magic of the movies on the big screen. Unfortunately, Rotherham has been underserved of cinema facilities for so long, with the nearest cinema over in Sheffield. We’re excited to open in Forge Island next year and bring something new to the town and make it easier for locals to experience movies how they were intended to be seen."
Cannon, the last town centre cinema, closed in 1990.
Arc Cinema website
Forge Island website
Muse Developments website
Images: Muse / Arc Cinemas
7 comments:
£10.50? It's £4.99 at Meadowhall.
To be accurate, it is FROM £4.99 at off peak times and if booked in advance on line. That rises to £5.99 off peak if purchased at the venue. Prices then rise accordingly at popular times and in the more expensive seats.
Wonderful news.
Our family will be using it on a very regular basis,and just not the cinema the restaurants as well.
Looking well forward to the forge island leisure development and we'll done to the labour council for making it happen.
Well done to Labour council for making it happen!You've got to be having a laugh,it's the town's useless council that is to blame for the demise of the town centre,meanwhile all neighbouring town are light years ahead of Rotherham.I too will enjoy the facilities on forge island,but it as little if anything to do with the groomer enablers of RMBC.
Are you taking the pee?This surely is a wind up, how the hell can anyone praise this shower,it’s because of these clowns, the town has got this bad the 1st place!
My workmates in Derbyshire tell me the cinema chain is actually very good, or at least their cinema is anyway. No doubt it will be good, but I still can't bring myself to go anywhere near the town centre, especially with my wife and kid.
The whole scheme will end up being a white elephant 🐘 when the novelty wears off whose got the money to pay big name restaurants and the quoted cinema 🎥 prices plus parking on top of that too,Also the who development is being built on a flood plain and the flood barrier will not be enough to prevent a disaster, Thetown planners and architects are being paid a fortune and haven't a clue what their doing, heaven help us ,GSTK.
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