Yate Shopping Centre Cinema & Restaurants planning application submitted
Date Posted:07/11/2013
Plans for a cinema development on land adjacent to the town centre car park in Link Road, Yate have been submitted to South Gloucestershire Council this week.
The plans include a new six-screen multiplex cinema, seven restaurant units, a riverside cafe pod and three retail units similar to the new units recently opened in the Centre’s East Walk.
Mark Hull, Managing Director of Yate Shopping Centre owners Crestbridge Corporate Trustees, said: “Since we held the public consultation in May we have been addressing the technical issues raised. We believe we now have a scheme that is viable and is appealing to the market. Several operators have told us they are prepared to commit to leases and we now just need to get planning so we can start the ball rolling.
“The feedback from the consultation has been overwhelmingly positive although there were concerns raised about the many vacant units in the existing centre. Things have changed since the public consultation: we have seen many of the then vacant units occupied or under offer and there is a new air of confidence among the retail industry. We have some top high street names looking to come to Yate but they do need suitable premises.”
Yate Shopping Centre Manager, Andrew Lowrey: “Yate has been promised a cinema for many years and I am being asked daily what’s happening about the plans. They are now with the Council and I hope people will write in and show their support for the application, details of which will be on our website in due course.
“This is a key plank of the town’s Community Plan and is a major commitment for the centre owners. It is a £12 million investment, creating up to 250 jobs when fully occupied and a further 150 during construction.”
The application is expected to be validated by the Council in the next few days and should be decided by the Planning Committee in early February. Work will then start on-site late in 2014 with completion scheduled for late 2015.
