Plans to revive leisure activities at Blackpool’s former Odeon Cinema take step forward

Proposals to revive leisure activities at Blackpool’s former Odeon Cinema have been given another lift by planners.

The former 10-screen cinema on Bloomfield Central (formerly Festival Leisure Park) on Rigby Road closed in June 2023 when its lease came to an end and has been empty ever since, with the movie screens now stripped out.
Preston-based Austringer Capital, now operating as AIM Land Ltd, already had planning permission for the building to be used for leisure which could include activities such as bowling, trampolining, crazy golf, arcade games, climbing walls or indoor sports such as padel tennis or five-a-side football.
And those plans are now back in the pipeline after subsequent proposals for the building to be used for self storage were refused by council planners, and an appeal was unsuccessful.
However, despite the leisure plans being previously approved, the applicants still sought a certificate of lawfulness to confirm that work in support of that planning permission had been carried out lawfully according to the requirements.
A large part of that work included the removal of the property’s canopy, a significant part of the building.
The bid by the applicants has now proved successful, with the certificate of lawfulness granted for the works.
A planning officer’s report stated: “Planning permission was granted for a range of works including alterations to the frontage of the former cinema building.
“This applications seeks a certificate of lawfulness to confirm that this permission has been lawfully implemented through the removal of a canopy which extended the full width of the building’s front elevation.
“The works form part of the approved alterations to the building’s frontage and are integral to the visual transformation envisaged by the permission.
 “As such, they fall squarely within the scope of the permission granted.”
The original planning permission granted was for external alterations, including installation of glazed shop fronts, cladding, render an additional glazing and use of premises as altered as indoor sport, recreation or fitness, with two fast food a nd drinks units to ground floor.
Austringer Capital Ltd has already brought Club 3000 Bingo and a Starbucks drive-thru to the site.
Meanwhile, Blackpool has a new picturehouse, entertainments hub and diner – the Backlot Cinema – which opened at the Houndshill shopping complex in March 2024 and includes a wide IMAX screen.