Cinema hoarding to stay until end of summer

The hoarding around the site of the new arthouse cinema on Lower Merchants Road will not be removed until the end of August – more than three years after it was first erected.

City councillors have been told of yet more delays on the project – the lane closure implemented in summer 2010 will not be lifted for up to another six weeks.

Motorists blame the lane closure for regular delays along the Docks, and now face into another Race Week with the road out of action.

Director of Services Tom Connell told councillors that recent high winds had affected the operation of the tower crane on the site, and there were also “archaeological issues, which are normal for a civil engineering project like this”.

The three-screen cinema with seating for 328 is now due for completion at the beginning of next year.