The South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) has taken formal possession of St Austell's cinema as work continues to gather pace on the £75 million town centre regeneration scheme.

The RDA's demolition contractor Gilpin has been tasked with the project and has already moved in. Over the next six weeks the inside of the building will be stripped out before the roof is removed in October, which will take a further two weeks.

After that, it will take until December to fully demolish the building. A brand new state-of-the-art four screen cinema will be built on the north side of Aylmer Square by autumn 2008. Once finished, the building will be handed back to the cinema owner David Williams for fit out.

Robert McGuffie, Cornwall Regeneration Manager for the South West RDA, said: "Visitors, local residents and businesses in the town will start to see a real change in St Austell as the £75 million regeneration scheme gathers pace. It's a very exciting in the programme; the team is now on site and the cinema demolition work is well underway."


The regeneration has been made possible through a £31.5m investment from the RDA. The cash injection has been crucial to attract developers David McLean Developments who are providing the remainder of the investment. The scheme will take two years to complete and will include new shops, bars, restaurants and cafes, a 550-space underground car park, and 70 apartments – 30 per cent of which will be made available as affordable housings for local people.

Other work being carried out includes removing retaining walls and remaining foundations, and the ramp to the former car park on Old Vicarage Place will be removed on four successive Sundays to avoid disruption. Telephone and power lines are also being diverted.

Sir Robert McAlpine, contractors for the scheme, will be erecting new hoardings around Alymer Square and along South Street and Trinity Street in preperation for major excavation works to start on site next month.

Up to 200 people will be employed during the construction phase and the RDA will ensure that local materials and labour are used wherever possible. This means tens of millions of pounds of the scheme’s costs will be recycled into the Cornish economy.

(JM)