Knowsley halts Kirkby cinema project over rising costs
Citing “ongoing national economic uncertainty” and a £5m increase in the scheme’s price tag, the council said that it would put building the six-screen cinema on pause.
Knowsley Council had also intended to borrow money to pay for the project, with the funds being repaid with rents charged to the scheme’s cinema and restaurant operators. Based on the interest rates in early 2022, this would have led the scheme to break even, the council said.
“Pausing our plans for the cinema project has not been an easy decision to make, but one that we have been unable to shy away from, given the current financial circumstances in the country,” said Cllr Tony Brennan, Knowsley Council’s regeneration and economic development cabinet member.
“We are facing rising costs across the board, a level of inflation we haven’t seen for almost 40 years, and the negative impact of recent government policy announcements, which are seriously destabilising the financial markets,” he continued.
“It’s infuriating that the actions of this government in the space of just a few weeks have turned everything upside down and forced us to put our plans on hold – we planned to start the scheme before the end of this year and now we face having to wait for markets to calm and for greater economic certainty.”
Brennan also stated that with the current cost of living crisis, an additional £5m for a cinema could not be justified.
“But I want to stress that our ambition for Kirkby, and indeed for Knowsley as a whole, has not diminished – and, to be absolutely clear, we aren’t writing this project off – we are pausing it,” he said.
Planning permission for the cinema was approved in November 2020. Reel Cinemas was confirmed as the operator of the venue more than three years before that.
The cinema building would have come in at three storeys and have three restaurants. The entire structure, designed by Saunders Architecture + Urban Design, would be 34,000 sq ft.
Morgan Sindall Construction had been awarded the pre-construction work contract for the scheme in February, with the understanding that it would be selected to do the construction work as well.
During the planning process, Fairhurst was the civil and structural engineer for the scheme. Budd Bentley was the M&E consultant. Other project team members included John Francis Planning and Transport Planning Associates.
The cinema would sit on the site of the old Kirkby Library, off Cherryfield Drive.
Knowsley is not the only council to pause a regeneration project due to the economic climate. Salford City Council put its plans for a Pendleton leisure centre on “indefinite hold” after construction costs rose by more than £3m.
Increasing construction costs also saw the price tag for Manchester’s Factory International rise by £25.2m. Also in Manchester, the Town Hall project has seen construction costs increase by £17m.
