UPDATED 20th December 2011

St Neots Cinema Complex given planning permission.

Redevelopment of the Old Fire Station site, St Neots was given planning permission yesterday Dec 19th.

It means that the district’s largest town will see a multiplex cinema and restaurant complex built by Easter 2013.

The meeting was attended by residents, town councillors and members of developers Turnstone Estates.

(Reference 1101319FUL) for the redevelopment of the Old Fire Station site, St Neots, is currently under consideration by Huntingdonshire District Council. This application responds to the Council’s Adopted Design Brief for the site, and proposes a development which will provide the town with much needed and improved leisure facilities consisting of a six screen cinema and four restaurant buildings, three residential flats, car and cycle parking, and a public plaza and thoroughfare. One cinema theatre will have space for live performances for the St Neots Players.

Located on a town centre site measuring approximately 1.1 hectares, to the east of Huntingdon Street, south of East Street, west of Shady Walk and to the north of Cambridge Street.

The site comprises the Old Fire Station site fronting onto Huntingdon Street, the private car park area of Cressner House, the former household recycling centre and the 73 space Pay and Display car park beyond, and part of the Shady Walk recreation ground.  

Vehicular access to the site will be from Huntingdon Street, to the north of Cressner House. Pedestrian and cycle access will be from Huntingdon Street and Shady Walk. A public thoroughfare will provide a direct pedestrian link from the adjacent town centre to the public plaza. 

The cinema building will be located towards the centre of the site. A two storey building housing a ground floor restaurant, with three residential flats above, will front onto Huntingdon Street. There will also be three single storey restaurants; two fronting onto the public plaza and one adjacent to the cinema building.

A high quality public plaza will form an extension to the town centre. Routes through the site will provide a permeable route from the town centre to surrounding residential areas.

A landscaped, 105 space car park east of the cinema building will occupy part of the current recreation ground, with the remainder being retained as recreational space. A 15 space car park for the exclusive use of Cressner House will be sited to the rear of the existing office building. Cycle parking spaces (68) will also be provided.

The quality and security of the Shady Walk recreation area will be enhanced by the provision of upgraded children’s play facilities, improved lighting and the installation of CCTV.

New employment opportunities will be created, with employee numbers for the entire site expected to be in the region of 150-175 people. 

The development will deliver improvements to the local road network in the form of an improved traffic-controlled junction, ensuring there is no adverse highway impact. 

Chris Goldsmith, Managing Director of Turnstone Estates, commented: “We are delighted that the scheme has received planning approval. The support from local people has been fantastic and we are very much looking forward to delivering these long-awaited leisure facilities to St Neots and the surrounding area.”

It will provide the first cinema complex in St Neots, Cambridgeshire’s largest town.