Peterborough’s new cinema still not open - what's happened over almost eight years since plans first unveiled?

A multi-million pound cinema has adorned the skyline above Peterborough’s Queensgate Shopping Centre for months yet mystery still surrounds when this expensive addition to the city’s leisure life will open to the public.

The owners of the 40-year-old shopping centre, Invesco Real Estate, have remained tight lipped about the future of the 10 screen IMAX cinema that is part of a planned £60 million development of the mall which was first announced nearly eight years ago.

And the cinema operator Empire has also refused to respond to questions about when it plans to start screening films at the new venue.

When were cinema plans announced?

Yet plans for a multi-screen cinema to be created at the Queensgate shopping centre were first unveiled in May 2015.

The proposals involved the cinema plus seven new restaurants and an array of new stores which was then a £30 million investment creating a 77,000 square feet extension to the shopping centre and about 200 jobs.

Much of the extra room was to be handed over by department chain John Lewis, which even then had more space than it required. Fashion chain Next was also to move into a new larger unit.

While the original concept has not really altered over the years, although the cost has doubled, the ambitious development has been forced to overcome a number of challenges including competition from rival developers that triggered a so-called Screens War, which culminated in a High Court fight, a change of cinema operator and then the Covid-19 pandemic and the shock closure announcements by anchor tenant department chain John Lewis, swiftly followed by that of fashion chain Next.

Screens War breaks out between developers

Early difficulties came from a £100 million redevelopment plan drawn up by Hawksworth Securities for the North Westgate site, which adjoined the Queensgate land.

It too had a multi-screen cinema as its centrepiece but it had been unveiled two years before the Queensgate venture was proposed.

Teams from both camps, concerned that two multi-screen cinemas in such close proximity would not be viable, met in a bid to iron out any difficulties but to little avail.

Queensgate submitted a full planning application to Peterborough City Council in June 2015 while an outline planning application for North Westgate was submitted a few days later.

In August 2015, Queensgate announced that Odeon would operate its cinema, which would have 11 screens.

Two months later, Peter Breach, chairman of Hawksworth Securities, declared that if there could not be a cinema in the North Westgate, there could not be a North Westgate development and he submitted a formal objection to the Queensgate plans.

Both planning applications went before the same meeting of the council’s planning committee in October 2015 with councillors told to consider the two applications separately and on their own merits. Both applications were approved by councillors.

Legal challenge is launched

Dissatisfied with the outcome, Mr Breach took the matter to the High Court in June 2016 seeking a judicial review of the council’s decision, claiming it was unfair and unreasonable.

Hawksworth’s counsel Hereward Phillpot QC told Mrs Justice Lang: “There is only sufficient demand to support the development of one new cinema in Peterborough city centre.”

But Mrs Justice Lang, in a complex written ruling running to nearly 12,500 words, said that the council was entitled to reach its decision to grant planning consent for the Queensgate plan.

In March 2017, Queensgate’s owners announced they planned an £8 million upgrade to the centre’s frontage, which would be followed in 2018 with the start of work on the cinema development, which should be completed in 2019.

But the following month, Invesco announced it was in talks with other cinema operators after a change of ownership of the Odeon had created uncertainty about its commitment to Queensgate.

New operator for IMAX cinema

In July 2018, Invesco announced that Empire Cinemas was now the chosen operator for the Queensgate cinema.

It was not until February 2019, that Queensgate announced the start of construction work with phase one to be finished by the start of 2020 with the full extension - to feature the cinema plus a string of restaurants and new stores - expected to be finished by the autumn of 2021.

In September 2019, part of the Queensgate bus station was partially closed for safety reasons while contractors worked on the roof to build the cinema. The the extension was then due to be completed before Christmas 2021.

Centre director Mark Broadhead said: “We know people in Peterborough have been waiting in anticipation for the cinema to come to the city centre, and now it is.

“This is an extremely exciting time for us all and, although we expect a small amount of disruption, the final result will be well worth it.”

By May 2020 the first cranes appeared on the Queensgate Shopping Centre roof and passers-by could start to see the cinema taking shape yet the biggest challenge was only just over the horizon.

Pandemic takes star role

In March 2021, as retailers were allowed to reopen after months of Covid-19 restrictions, John Lewis announced the closure of its four storey Queensgate store with the loss of 318 jobs. Just weeks later Next announced it too was leaving the Queensgate.

The closures were a blow to the centre but by 2022 Queensgate was able to announce the opening of the £2.6 million mini-golf entertainment venue Puttstars.

Mr Broadhead said: “The opening of Puttstars is the start of much more to come that will see further entertainment, leisure and restaurants come to the city centre and help create a completely new destination for people to visit.”

But there has not been an announcement about the cinema.

But Peterborough is not alone. Residents of Basildon in Essex are also mystified about when their £25 million 10-screen Empire cinema will begin operating after its planned February opening was cancelled with no new opening date fixed.