Operator unveiled at new multi-screen Shropshire cinema

CINEWORLD has been unveiled as the operator of a proposed new multi-screen cinema to be built in Telford.

The theatre is part of the £250m Southwater regeneration scheme by Telford and Wrekin Council and London-based developer Citygrove Securities.

The 11-screen cinema will front onto the new Southwater Square, opposite Telford Shopping Centre, alongside a new 80-bedroom hotel, seven bars and restaurants and car park.

Other parts of the Southwater project will comprise offices and residential accommodation.

Cineworld, which already has sites in Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton and Birmingham among others in the region, will go into direct competition with a nearby 10-screen Odeon.

The £250m scheme is being backed by investors including the Homes and Communities Agency and Telford-based Southwater Event Group, which owns the Shropshire town’s International Centre.

The council said discussions were at an advanced stage with a well-known hotel group and several restaurant chains.

Citygrove’s development represents a £17m investment in Southwater and will create approximately 170 full and part-time jobs.

A planning application for the cinema, hotel, bars, restaurants and 600-space multi storey car park is due to be submitted towards the end of the year with construction expected to start next summer.