Decision paves way for Tenbury Wells cinema revamp

A major planning obstacle delaying the long-awaited £800,000 revamp of a 1930s cinema in Tenbury Wells has been removed, developers revealed today.

Work at the grade-II listed Regal Cinema in Tenbury Wells had been due to start in June but architects were forced to go back to the drawing board when they realised the foyer would be too small and difficult for wheelchairs to access.

But now Malvern Hills District Council has granted approval for internal walls at the Georgian building to be demolished to make way for a much larger ground floor foyer.

Helen Wootton, director at Glazzard Architects, admitted the changes had originally been "contentious" with planners, but was delighted to have finally got the go-ahead.

She said: "It's a fairly big change from the original application but it was really needed to give the whole cinema theatre a real lease of life for future years.

"It was a bit contentious as there is more internal work involved, but I think everybody saw sense and agreed that it'll actually extend the life of the cinema by opening it up to more people, including disabled users.

"The problem was convincing the local authority's conservation officers that we were actually enhancing and preserving the building's life as we were taking away some walls.

"But getting approval means we can finally move ahead with it all and we have straight away gone out to tender and are hoping to have the main contractor in place in September with work starting in October."

The original plan included two shop units to remain on the cinema's ground floor, but these will now make for the modern foyer on.

The revamp was also delayed in spring this year when corrosion was discovered in some of the beams of the building.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has provided £680,000 towards the project. A new state-of-the-art digital projection and sound system will be separately funded.

Regal Cinema is owned and managed by Tenbury Town Council.