AS the last pieces of scaffolding surrounding Newbury’s new £7.7m cinema are removed, newburytoday has been in the town finding out what you think of it.
Contractors said this week that the last piece of scaffolding was due to be removed tomorrow (Friday), finally revealing the silver shell that will house the town’s seven new silver screens.
Now West Berkshire Council is preparing for another three months of roadworks on Cheap Street and Market Street to add the finishing touches to the town’s new cultural hub.
The Market Street pedestrian crossing will be moved closer to the cinema entrance, while a new taxi layby will be created opposite the bus station.
The Cheap Street pedestrian crossing will be widened, and the road raised at both crossings to prevent speeding.
Work to resurface the roads will take place at night, between 7pm and 4am, for a fortnight during the summer. Council spokesman Keith Ulyatt said that there would be a seamless continuation of the current one-way system until the improvements were complete.
Meanwhile Conor O’Gallagher, the director of Irish developers Alanis, said that Vue Cinemas would start fitting out the seven screens later this month.
“It’s all going on time, and everything will be finished by early November. The original target date to finish was November 2, and we think it will be within five or six days of that,” he said.
“This is a big thing for Newbury, and people have been waiting a long time.”
He said that the first announcements may be made soon about which restaurants and bars will move into the five units on the ground floor of the complex.

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