One of first multiplex cinemas has closed its doors for good
ONE of Derby’s Showcase multiplex cinemas has closed for good, the company has confirmed.
The cinema chain said its venue at Foresters Leisure Park, in Osmaston Park Road, will not reopen, having shut its doors in September in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Signage and branding have been removed from the building which has been operating as a multiplex cinema since the late 1980s, welcoming countless thousands of film fans over the decades.
Built on the site of the former Sherwood Foresters regimental barracks and boasting 11 screens, it was one of the first multiplex cinemas to open in the UK and ushered in a renaissance in cinemagoing in Derby.
It leaves a huge gap at the Foresters Leisure Park, which saw its Pizza Hut restaurant close just a couple of weeks ago.
The Showcase Cinema de Lux at the Derby Centre – formerly Intu Derby – is expected to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so.
Showcase Cinemas UK general manager Mark Barlow said: “Showcase Cinema Derby Foresters Park permanently closed on
September 17.
“However we remain committed to the city and Showcase Cinema de Lux, Derby Centre will reopen as soon as Government restrictions are lifted and we are able to – as will all our other cinemas in the UK.”
It is unclear what will become of the vacant property.
Showcase joins a number of big-name brands to shut down their operations in Derby.
As well as Pizza Hut confirming the closure of its two eat-in restaurants in the city last week, a number of shops and eateries have closed for good over the past year.
These include Accessorize at the Derby Centre; Birds Bakery branches in Iron Gate and Normanton; Gap, in Albion Street; Greggs, in St Peter’s Street; Hotter Shoes at the Derby Centre; Monsoon at the Derby Centre; Office at the Derby Centre, and florist Scenta Flora, in Sadler Gate.