Scarborough set to get multi-screen cinema as massive Brunswick Shopping Centre redevelopment plan revealed

The shopping centre, which opened in 1990 and attracted an annual average footfall of seven million at its peak, has been struggling in recent times following anchor tenant Debenhams closing its store in May 2021.

Real estate giant Scarborough Group International, whose chairman Kevin McCabe is based in the town, acquired the shopping centre in September 2021 and has now submitted a planning application for its proposals to regenerate the facility by putting a new cinema at the heart of a redeveloped building. It is intended the site would be “leisure-led” with a mix of local restaurants and bars alongside national chains.

Subject to planning permission being granted, it is hoped construction work could begin late next year with the cinema potentially opening by Christmas 2024.

Mark Jackson, Group Development Director at SGI, said talks have been taking place with five different cinema chains interested in opening in the town, with a partner due to be selected early next year.

While the town does have the one-screen Hollywood Plaza cinema, Mr Jackson said there is a clear gap in the market for a larger operation.

He said the choice of cinema chain will influence the number of screens, as well as what other food and drink establishments are likely to move in alongside it.

"Speaking to people in the industry, they have been looking to put a multi-screen cinema in Scarborough for years but for whatever reason it has never come off.

"The Brunswick is a classic 1980s-1990s Debenhams-anchored scheme. Debenhams going is a story that has been seen across the country. We have got a lot of vacancies – it is not just the loss of the anchor, it is the broader national crisis of the high street.

"When you have got the cinema, the logic is you lead it with other leisure offers. It is not to preclude retail but it is about getting the cinema operator in, working with them as a partner and saying, what works next?

"Depending on which operator we go with, it is looking at being between seven and nine screens.

"We have had expressions of interests and proposals from five and we are honing it down now. The cinema will be such a dominant feature a lot flows from who the cinema is and how they operate.”

Work has taken place with the borough council on the plans being part of wider regeneration efforts in Scarborough.

Mr Jackson said SGI is likely to seek some financial support towards the costs of getting the scheme off the ground from the council.

"We don’t know the full liability yet and we will be doing the best we can to make it as viable as possible but in all likelihood it will need some public sector support. A cinema is right for the wider regeneration plans. We are trying to do something here that isn’t just a patch up job, it needs to help relocate Scarborough town centre.

"This is development that would have been very straightforward five years ago but until the market gets itself comfortable with the future of town centres, you’re going to have a challenge with rental yields.

"You want to make sure there is a decent budget for doing the right thing with the property because this is a multi-generational opportunity where you are giving Scarborough a good base of economic growth right in the town centre for the next 50 years.”