Matlock set for new cinema
Plans are expected to be approved for the scheme
A council’s plans to set up a cinema and a restaurant in a Derbyshire town are set for approval.
Derbyshire Dales District Council has been assessing the Matlock Market Hall site for redevelopment for years and those aims are set to take a significant leap forward.
At a meeting on Tuesday, February 8, councillors are set to approve the authority’s long-held plans, with its officers recommending approval.
The plans would see the market hall area itself, next to the M&S Foodhall, turned into a two-screen cinema and the adjoining restaurant and café facing onto Bakewell Road.
If approved, the cinema would have a capacity for 67 people in one screen and 89 in the second screen, while the restaurant would have room for 50 covers.
A document submitted by Lathams Architects as part of the application says the scheme “will provide Matlock with a valuable leisure and cultural asset which will benefit both the local community as well as supporting the important visitor economy, and boosting the town’s evening economy”.
It says: “In addition, the application scheme will contribute positively to the enhancement of the Bakewell Road gateway into Matlock town centre.”
Designs submitted with the application show the restaurant and café being called “Vertigo Café” and the cinema being called “Dales Matlock Cinema”, however the exact details are to be worked out by the private operator of the businesses.
The operator, who bid for the project and runs over sites, has not yet been disclosed publicly.
They are said to be willing to explore community use of the cinema areas when films are not being shown.