Cinema chain signs up as Pioneer Place anchor tenant

The proposed Pioneer Place cinema

Popular cinema chain, Reel Cinema, has signed as anchor tenant for the £26m Pioneer Place, leisure and retail scheme in Burnley town centre.

Burnley Council, owners of Pioneer Place, has announced that the scheme is to receive a significant boost having signed agreements with Reel to bring an eight screen, 18,134 sq ft multi-screen cinema complex to the development, which will also include a restaurant plaza, shops and 125-space car park.

The Pioneer Place scheme will have space for seven restaurant units totalling 28,477 sq ft gross internal floor area, two retail units totalling 10,000 sq ft gross internal floor area, and substantial car park provision.

Burnley Council leader, Charlie Briggs, said: “I am delighted that we have secured Reel Cinema as anchor for this exciting leisure and retail development.

“We have signed a deal with Reel to relocate them onsite into a new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art cinema multi-screen complex.

“It’s great that we have announced Reel as anchor for the Pioneer Place development, the signing will give other restaurant and leisure chains the confidence to invest in this exciting scheme.

“We’ve already had initial talks with some of the leading restaurant chains and the signing of Reel as anchor tenant should provide them with the confidence to commit.”

He added: “With the growth of the University of Central Lancashire in Burnley and the student population in Burnley set to grow ten-fold to 4,000 in the next four years, this new cinema and leisure offer will be great for the new students and a boost to Burnley’s growing university town status.

“This development will also be a major jobs boost for Burnley with the site once complete set to create over 300 jobs, as well as the many construction jobs which will be created in the development of the project.

“Burnley town centre has attracted a number of new businesses in the last 18 months including Primark, Easy Coffee, Quick Crepes, Millie’s Cookies, Carnivoro Brazilian restaurant, and The Corkhouse wine shop & bar. A recent report by independent experts said Burnley is ‘punching above its weight’ in terms of maintaining and growing the number of shops in its town centre.

“The Pioneer Place development will further establish Burnley as the leading shopping and leisure destination in East Lancashire.”

K C Suri, owner of Reel Cinema, said: “Burnley is a good location for us, with a thriving local economy. With its modern design, Pioneer Place will be a great addition to Burnley town centre attracting more visitors and creating a dynamic leisure environment.”

Pioneer Place is being developed by Burnley Council in partnership with developers Maple Grove Developments.

Karen Hirst, managing director, Maple Grove Development said: “The scheme is a major mixed-use town centre development and the signing of Reel to Pioneer Place is a major milestone in the project.

“Pioneer Place will be a major addition to Burnley’s night time economy.”

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