[03
NOV 00] APOLLO CINEMA NEWS
Cinema Looks Due
South For Expansion
A
Leamington cinema is hoping to get back to its original size by
increasing the number of silver screens on offer.
The
Apollo Cinema in Portland Place is preparing a planning application to
add two extra screens, and increase its number of seats by 300.
If
the move is granted the cinema will seat more than 1,000 in six
screens. Originally it held more than 1,000 people, but could only
show one film at a time.
Manager
Gary Stevens said the plans to expand had been in the pipeline for a
while, but had to be amended from an earlier scheme as the building
would have encroached on the floodplain of the River Leam.
That
application was withdrawn by cinema bosses, who did not want a
confrontation with planning officials.
Mr
Stevens said meetings were currently being arranged so the application
would meet all the required standards when it was submitted.
He
said he hoped it would get a decision in the New Year, and that films
would be showing in the extension by Easter.
He
said:
“We
are trying to keep up with the market. We are obviously not as big
as some other companies, but we are an important part of the
independent sector.”
Mr
Stevens said the Apollo’s future had been helped by the decision to
turn the Regent Hotel into a ballroom and residences, instead of
another cinema.
The
Apollo has had a bad run of luck recently. It was flooded in the
Easter floods of 1998, and in April an arson attack gutted the
building.
Mr
Stevens added:
“These
things happen to us every two years, so we should have next year
off, but we are waiting for the plague of locusts!”
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