Over 500 People Make Their Ely Cinema Choice

Hundreds of people have had their say about where they would like a new cinema development in Ely to go.

With the private sector wanting to develop a permanent cinema in Ely and 89 per cent of the public supporting the idea, East Cambs District Council had asked local residents for their opinions on where development should go.

The public consultation, outlined four sites for development which included:

• Option 1: Land at junction of Downham Road/A10.
• Option 2: Ely Station Gateway area.
• Option 3: Land west of Cambridgeshire Business Park, Angel Drove.
• Option 4: North Ely.

The public favoured the first three options but when they were asked to choice a preferred site, 42.7 per cent chose the land at the Downham Road/A10 junction, ahead of the Ely Station Gateway (31.9 per cent) and then land west of Cambridgeshire Business Park (18.8 per cent).

The item will now go forward to members at Development and Transport committee this week for a final decision.

Councillor Peter Moakes, Chairman of the Development and Transport committee, said: "It was great to see so many people getting involved in the cinema consultation to have their say on where a site should be. With so much interest from the private sector to build a multiplex I doubt it will be long before we get our first planning application which was why this work is so important.

"By working with the local community and identifying preferred sites to future developers we are able to manage the future growth for our district to suit the needs and desires of our residents rather the profits of an outside organisation."

Photo by M4tik