Rejoicing in Ripon EXCLUSIVE: Coming soon – Ripon’s new three-screen cinema
🎥✨In his first media interview since receiving the news that North Yorkshire planners have approved the application for a three-screen cinema in Ripon, John Tate thanks all in the city who have welcomed the ambitious scheme.
For him and his business partner John Hewitt, Ripon is by far the largest cinema venture they have undertaken, and he told Tim Flanagan of the Rejoicing in Ripon Blog:
The wow factor 🌟
“At 10,000 sq ft it will be four times the size of the cinema that we opened in Ilkley in 2015 and we are going to ensure that Ripon has a real wow factor for film lovers who come to watch the latest blockbusters and those who want to see sporting events screenings from the National Theatre and Royal Opera House.”
The three screens at the Fishergate venue will have a combined capacity of 157 seats and there will be 8 to 10 screenings a day between 10.30am and 8pm.
Because of the speed with which planning officers gave the £1.5 million scheme the green light, the desired aim of opening before the crucial Christmas season now looks to be a very realistic objective 🎄🎬
Mr Tate pointed out: “So long as we don’t hit any so-far unseen issues with the building, we plan to open on November 27 and works, starting with stripping out of the former Original Factory Store premises begin next week.”
A proven track record 🎞️🏆
John Tate and John Hewitt have a proven track record of successful cinema operations.
In 2022, their two-screen Ilkley Film Theatre earned the Cinema of the Year title at the Big Screen Awards, just seven years after they brought big screen entertainment back to the town with the opening of their Leeds Road venue.
In 2018, they acquired and rejuvenated Wetherby’s Caxton Street cinema, breathing new life into the 1915 building by adding a screen and a luxurious lounge.
Now they are set to achieve the hat-trick by opening in Ripon, where a newly approved application to sell alcohol means that food and drinks can be enjoyed in the smart lounge area that cinema-goers can relax in before and after a performance 🍿🥂
Mr Tate said: “All pieces of our jigsaw have been put in place and we thank North Yorkshire Council for the positive, efficient and friendly way in which their officers responded to our planning application.
“We also thank members of the public who have supported our plans and made us feel so welcome in this wonderful historic city.
“Thanks also go to the Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon councillors Andrew Williams and Jackie Crozier, the city council, Ripon Civic Society and the independent businesses in Ripon who voiced their support both individually and through the BID, whose help and advice has been exceptional.”
Powerful support from Ripon BID members 💼❤️
Ripon BID Manager Lilla Bathurst said:
“Our members across all business sectors in the city have wanted this development to go ahead from the moment that John Tate and John Hewitt unveiled their plans.
“The investment by two seasoned and award-winning cinema operators is a further sign of the confidence that investors like them and Sterne Properties Limited have in our magnificent Cathedral City of the Dales, whose post-covid recovery puts us high on the list of UK locations where independent businesses want to be and, importantly, places where people want to visit.”
- John Tate inside the building that will become the Ripon Cinema
- 2. John Tate and Ripon BID Manager, Lilla Bathurst at the entrance of the building.
All photographs were taken by Tim Flanagan of the Rejoicing in Ripon Blog for Ripon BID
