Plans to open new retail space at former Leigh Cineworld

The cinema, located at The Loom Retail Park on Spinning Jenny Way, has been vacant since January last year.

Realty Income Limited is behind the application to transform the former cinema into retail use.

The planning application includes the creation of a new service yard, intended for large HGVs, and the installation of roller shutters on the exterior of the building.

The change to the service yard will result in the loss of 72 parking bays, although four spaces will be made available for large vans, along with two disabled bays.

16 new cycle parking spaces are also part of the proposed plans.

The cinema, which first received planning approval in July 2010 as part of a larger redevelopment of the former industrial site, has been vacant since January last year.

The 2010 planning permit had included provisions for a supermarket, restaurants, and a petrol station.

The change of use is intended to bring a "national multiple retailer of DIY, trade and home improvement goods" to the unit.

The former Cineworld building, a standalone building measuring over 3,000 square meters, is located just to the south of Leigh town centre.

Plans would see the space go from around 3,027 square metres to 2,592 square metres as a result of the reorganisation and consolidation of the first-floor level.

The planning agency handling the application, Savills, has argued that there is little chance of the building being used as a cinema again, mainly due to changes in the film industry and rising competition from home streaming services and nearby multiplex cinemas.

They say that there is “no longer a commercial need for it” as a cinema.

Savills emphasised that the repurposing of the building would bring benefits to the town centre, improve consumer choice, and help revitalise the area.