The boss of a cinema chain which was going to form part of intu's Broadmarsh Centre vision says he is still "actively seeking" a venue in the city despite the collapse of initial plans. The Light, an independent cinema chain, was to set up inside the revamped shopping centre alongside a bowling alley and food outlets, but this vision was left in tatters as intu tumbled into administration.
Shopping centre giant intu had initially been behind the planned transformation of the old Broadmarsh Centre after more than a decade of waiting, however the downfall of high street retail and its killing blow, the coronavirus pandemic, led to the company crashing into administration. It had been in £4.5bn of debt when administrators were brought in.
Its hopeful plans for a new cinema, bowling alley and contemporary food and retail offer were supposed to have been brought to life by the end of 2021. However they would never materialise.
A new vision has since been unveiled and incorporates green space, the utilisation of the structure of the old shopping centre as well as a new hotel, accommodation and entrance to the caves. It will complete the southside regeneration scheme which includes the new bus station and library, due to open in 2023.
The boss behind The Light cinema chain however has now revealed he still has plans to bring the offering to the city despite the initial attempt failing. Keith Pullinger, founder of the cinema and leisure chain, says the company has since expanded its offer.
The Light will now be offering cinema screenings, bowling, mini-golf, interactive darts, climbing facilities and karaoke. The first site to offer this expanded service will be based in Banbury.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: "We are still expanding and Nottingham is a city we would love to be in. We've been developing over the last two years and form more than just cinema. We are really expanding the leisure offer.
"We think there is room for our offer in the city and we are still actively looking. [The pandemic] was tough. The cinema sector is in recovery mode but there are a lot of films coming now that capture people's imaginations.
"There is still a market for seeing films on the big screen. It is still a recovery year but I think out of home leisure will continue to be popular."
Back in January 2019 work on the centre had begun and the operators had been excited about the future prospects for the 1970s shopping centre. But Nottinghamshire Live soon discovered Sir Robert McAlpine, the contractor employed to conduct these works, had ceased operations. Eventually intu announced, the following year, all work had stopped amid the pandemic.
It would never resume. Some of this work was to develop a new bowling alley in the centre of the city and the company behind the proposals was called Hollywood Bowl.
It too has provided an update on whether or not it still hopes to set up shop in Nottingham. A spokesman said: "Whilst there is still uncertainty surrounding the future of the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre site, Hollywood Bowl Group remains interested in the potential development opportunity to bring one of our much-loved bowling and entertainment centres to Nottingham. We believe in the exciting vision for the new scheme and will continue to monitor the situation."
