Plans submitted for six screen cinema as the St James's development steps up a gear

Dover District Council today confirmed that Bond City has submitted a revised planning application for the Dover Town Investment Zone (DTIZ) known as the St James's development, which will include a multiplex cinema.

This follows the exchange of an agreement for lease with Cineworld Group PLC, and changes to the development agreement between the Council and Bond City Limited. The revision to the proposed development includes a six screen cinema with over 900 seats to be operated by Cineworld and will be accompanied by three restaurant units.

Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council, said: "Securing Cineworld at the St James's development is a major step forward in our plans for the town centre and provides an important leisure amenity for both residents and visitors alike. We have worked hard with our development partner to secure a high quality cinema operator, which will complement the retail, hotel and restaurants of the scheme. This is a sign of renewed investor confidence in Dover and will provide a major stimulus to the night-time economy of the town."

John Laker of development managers, Laker Developments, said: "Cineworld is the largest cinema operator in the UK and Ireland with 101 sites and over 48 million admissions in 2012. This is another major milestone in delivering the town centre regeneration and we hope to make more announcements shortly."

The St James's development is a 120,000 sq. ft. mixed-use retail and leisure development with parking for 440 vehicles in a key strategic location in Dover town centre.