Plans have been submitted for a new three-screen cinema in Ripon.
Award-winning independent cinema operators John Tate and John Hewitt have lodged a planning application with North Yorkshire Council to transform the former Original Factory Shop unit on Fishergate.
The three-storey, 10,000 sq ft building is set to close after 40 years of trading in the city.
The proposal would see the retail unit at 14–16 Fishergate repurposed into a modern cinema venue, featuring three screens.
Mr Tate told Tim Flanagan of the Rejoicing in Ripon blog:
“Ripon is one of the few places of its size in the north of England that is without a cinema and we have been looking for an opportunity there for six years, as we believe that it is a city on the up and with great potential.
"We are delighted to have signed a lease, subject to planning, for a change of use from retail unit to cinema on 14–16 Fishergate and hope to secure the necessary permission to proceed as soon as possible.”
If approved, the cinema would offer a mix of mainstream and specialist programming.
Mr Tate added:
“We will be showing a wide range of films, including the latest blockbusters and current releases, alongside Event Cinema, National Theatre Live, Royal Opera House productions, cinema stage musicals, documentaries and independent foreign-language films.
"We will also have schemes for the over 60s, families with babies, and film-lovers of all ages will be able to enjoy food and drink in the comfortable lounge area or in the auditorium while watching a film or performance.”
Tate and Hewitt are both members of the Executive Board of the UK Cinema Association and have previously operated cinemas in Ilkley and Wetherby.
In 2022, their Ilkley site was named Cinema of the Year at the Big Screen Awards, while their Wetherby project saw a historic single-screen venue expanded into a two-screen cinema with a lounge.
The plans have received backing from Ripon Business Improvement District (BID).
Manager Lilla Bathurst said:
“We will do everything within our power to support the application, which will add substantially to the city’s retail and leisure offering.”
She added:
“This is phenomenal news for Ripon and is a further sign of the confidence that investors have in the historic Cathedral City of the Dales.
Our post-covid recovery puts us high on the list of UK locations where independent businesses want to be — and importantly, places where people want to visit.”
Lilla continued:
“I believe that this £1.25 million investment will be the catalyst for further inward investment in our thriving city.”
The development follows uncertainty surrounding the former Curzon cinema building on North Street, which has been closed since July 2023.
Sterne Properties Limited, which owns the site, has welcomed the new proposal.
Director Robert Sterne said:
“The ship has now sailed in respect of our attempts to broker a deal with Curzon that would involve reopening the cinema at the site.
"We do, however, remain fully committed to returning the premises — closed since July 2023 — back into active use as a family-focused leisure facility for people of all ages.
"We are fully supportive of the plans that John Tate and John Hewitt have been kind enough to share with us, as we believe their development on Fishergate will be complementary to a new leisure use in North Street that would also save this landmark building from further deterioration.”
He added:
“We now hope to be able to get around the table once more with Curzon to seek equitable terms for the surrender of their lease.”
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