Stage and screen in one complex

The radical merger of venues for live performances and film screenings in luxury surroundings has emerged as the favoured choice for the town's regeneration.

Established national leisure providers such as Apollo, Ambassador Theatre Group, and Open Wide International have said they are interested in running such a venue in the town.

Its suggested capacity would be a 500-seat theatre '“ compared to the Alexandra Theatre's 364 seats '“ with up to three smaller auditoriums of between 50 and 150 seats each for film shows.

Flexible seating in the theatre would enable it to be used for a wide range of functions. These could be conferences, lectures and exhibitions.

All the auditoriums would have a plush feel to them backed by a top-quality brasserie and lounge to encourage play and film-goers to linger. This would provide the intimacy of small independent cinemas with the pulling power of the best big-screen releases.

It will cost between 7m and 9m to build and form one part of a proposed entertainment complex.

Councillors meeting tomorrow will decide whether the key scheme should take the first step towards fruition on the Hotham Arts Centre/Regis Centre seafront site.

Members of the Bognor Regis sub-committee of Arun District Council '“ meeting at the town hall at 3pm '“ will be asked by officers if they want to pursue the enticing vision.

If so, they have to choose an operator by the July 2008 deadline for complex developer St Modwen to submit a planning application for the redevelopment.

No firm timescale has yet been given for the complex to be built. The sub-committee's decision will be debated by all Arun's councillors on June 6.

Cllr Norman Dingemans, the sub-committee's chairman, said: "After a long period of research and analysis, I am delighted we are now in a position to discuss the findings of Locum's report and progress this aspect of the regeneration of Bognor."

The idea of creating a top-quality attraction pitched between a multiplex and an art house cinema has been recommended in a 103-page report by Europe's leading

consultancy in leisure destinations, Locum Consulting.

Such an attraction would form a key part of the redevelopment of the location crucial to the future success of Bognor for tourists and residents.

It will bring an estimated annual benefit of 900,000 to the town's economy and provide 25 full time jobs once it is opened. Some 14,000 more visitors would be attracted to its events than currently come to the town.

Locum Consulting's managing director, Sean Young, told the Observer the proposed venue should generate enough money to overcome the traditional losses made by theatres.

"We believe this creates a real opportunity for a performing arts venue in Bognor. It satisfies the interest in all the drama and dance that is staged in a traditional theatre along with being able to see all the block-buster films," he explained.

"Bringing the two aspects of entertainment together in a high- quality venue gives the town the best of both worlds.

"The venue would have the atmosphere and ambience of an independent art house cinema but with the big screen movies '“ like Spiderman 3 and the Pirates of the Caribbean '“ which the majority of the public want to see, rather than art films which only a small percentage of people want.

"There is no magic solution around the costs of the main auditorium to make it financially sustainable in its own right. But the combination of the attractions should make it financially viable if the rent that is charged is affordable."

Every part of the venue could be hired to enable private screenings to take place, especially in the smaller surroundings, for occasions such as birthdays to boost income.

The quality of the venue would be far removed from the 'box-like' multiplexes which have been built around the country in the past decade which were purely screens without anywhere for audiences to linger in comfort.

Mr Young said Bognor would be the first town to boast such as mixture of complementary film and stage areas.

He spent three months with three employees of his Haywards Heath-based consultancy and three architects compiling the entertainment study. They looked at 26 case studies before they arrived at their recommendation.

Locum proposes the stage and screen venue should be contained within the larger entertainment complex put forward by St Modwen.

This would be a large change from the original suggestion by St Modwen for the arts centre to be sited on the beach. This should become a restaurant to take advantage of its unrivalled views, says Locum.