Action! Walsall cinemas get green light as complexes to create 400 jobs
More than 400 jobs will be created and two cinemas built in Walsall after plans put forward by rival chains were approved.
Both the Odeon and Vue groups were granted permission for huge complexes by Walsall Council at a special planning committee meeting last night.
Each of the two cinemas will create a minimum of 200 jobs.
Vue has been given the go-ahead to build a nine-screen cinema opposite the Tesco development as part of the proposed £12 million Littleton Centre scheme.
And Odeon got the thumbs-up to build a two-storey complex at the Waterfront in Wolverhampton Street, near the Crown Wharf Retail Park and the new Premier Inn hotel.
Work on both projects is expected to start later this year.
Vue said its scheme, which will also include a variety of restaurants, would complete the Tesco and Walsall College development while boosting the town centre.
Work on the Vue scheme is set to begin this October.
Odeon's development will include a multi-screen cinema, shops, restaurants, bars, an outdoor seating area and a car park with up to 200 spaces. Work on the Odeon complex is set to begin this autumn, with plans to open the development by autumn next year.
Councillor Mohammed Arif, St Matthew's ward councillor, said today: "We welcome the investment in the town and the creation of 400 jobs, which is great news. The question is, economically speaking, whether it is feasible for the town centre to support two cinema complexes. But we do certainly welcome the investment."
Councillors praised the plans, although some had concerns over parking for the Vue project as the firm plans to allow its customers to use the Tesco car park under agreements reached with the supermarket. Vue and Odeon had opposed their rival's application.
