Scarborough MP still wants to see a multiplex cinema in the town
The MP for Scarborough says he still wants to see a multiplex cinema in the town whether that is on the North Bay or closer to the centre.
The MP for Scarborough says he still wants to see a multiplex cinema in the town.
Robert Goodwill says it could be on the proposed North Bay site or closer to the centre.
The extended agreement between developers Benchmark Leisure and Scarborough Borough Council runs out next month.
Robert said:
"The whole development at the North Bay has been much longer in the delivery than anyone ever predicted. The banking crash hit the residential sector, the flats didn't fly off the shelves like hot cakes and we had to look at a plan b to let them out as holiday lets in some cases.
"I still want to see Scarborough with its own multiplex cinema, whether that's at the North Bay or nearer the centre of town, but we do need a multiplex cinema because we need more things for people to do on the very few occasions in the summer when it rains in Scarborough and also for local people as well.
"People tell me they travel as far afield as York to visit the cinema. The existing cinemas are not state-of-the-art I think it's fair to say, so I would like to see that development and all the other opportunities around that to do with takeaway food like pizza.
"There is a good business case to be made for a place like Scarborough having a multiplex cinema. We have thousands of visitors in the summer and we have a big population all year round big enough to sustain a multiplex cinema, so I'm optimistic that this will come to fruition.
"Covid is having a dramatic effect on the whole cinema sector and many cinema companies are struggling to survive at this stage, so we may well see delays for understandable reasons before they start investing in new cinemas."