Councillors have agreed plans to fund a £5million cinema and retail development in Bargoed town centre.
A meeting of full council has agreed to the authority building a cinema to lease to a national operator. Restaurants and cafés would also form part of the scheme.
Bids will now be invited for tenancies of the two units with the council borrowing up to £5m to fund the development.
The council has decided to build the cinema itself on the Bargoed retail plateau site and lease it to a national cinema chain after advice from commercial property experts. The council has said it already has interest from a national cinema company.
The cinema is the second phase of the development, with supermarket Morrisons due to open as part of phase one.
Work on the Morrisons development is due to start soon with planned completion in Autumn 2013.
Cllr Ron Davies, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Phase two is proceeding because of the vision and commitment of members and officers alike. The key decision is for the council to proceed to commission the work, itself, rather than use consultants as was previously proposed. We shall save some £600,000 in fees and this together with proposed rental income will make the development economically feasible.
“Had we not proceeded this way it is difficult to see how under the present economic circumstances this development could have gone ahead.”
I'm so pleased that the plans to build a cinema in bargoed has finally been given the go ahead. Bargoed certainly needs something like this to attract people as well as a morrisons and will indeed be a great boost for the whole of the towns traders.
I hope blackwood to risca starts getting some attention regarding facilites because we have none. No cinema and no bowling alley.