Altitude Real Estate’s plan for the redevelopment of the former ABC Cinema site in Royal Tunbridge Wells has been approved by the town’s planning committee.
Cinema operator Everyman will be the anchor tenant of the Belvedere – the retail and leisure development to be built on the Mount Pleasant Road site, adjacent to the town’s mainline station.
The seven-storey, 165,000 sq ft scheme, designed by Glenn Howells Architects, provides 33,000 sq ft of street-level shops, 21,000 sq ft of podium-level cafés and restaurants, the 10,000 sq ft Everyman Cinema, up to 10,000 sq ft of medical or office space, and around 100 flats set around a private landscaped garden.
The end value of the development is around £80m. Construction is expected to begin in 2018 and will take around two-and-a-half years.
Stephen Tillman, director of Altitude Real Estate, said: “The Belvedere will be a place in which people can live, shop and relax, as well as bridging the divide between the traditional retail areas of the Pantiles and Royal Victoria Place.
“Up to now, pre-leasing has focused on securing a strong cinema offer, so I am pleased that Everyman will be bringing its boutique cinema format to the Belvedere.”
Strutt & Parker and Jackson Criss have been appointed joint leasing agents.
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