Cinema saga now sees officers cast as clueless
COUNCILLORS from opposing political groups have clashed over the fate of Redcar’s new £9.6m Regent Cinema. The seafront facility funded by the Tees Valley Combined Authority was handed over to Redcar and Cleveland Council earlier this year, but has stood empty since.
In April, the council said it was in talks with an experienced national cinema operator to run it, but there has been no obvious progress and the prospect of the cinema opening in time for the busy summer season would appear to be diminishing.
The independent group on the council, which is in coalition with Liberal Democrats, appeared to pin blame on council officers, some of whom it named in a Facebook post.
The group said its leader Cllr Billy Wells had requested information on discussions and timelines on progress, which did not materialise.
Cllr Wells, it said, was later sent paperwork on a “history of failed attempts” to secure a tenant and told that negotiations were still continuing, but these were confidential.
The post said: “We are no nearer to finding out when the cinema is likely to open, or even when they will be able to give us a proposed date for when it will open. The independent group feel that the residents are entitled to more explanations and so will keep pushing to receive information.
“Our perception from residents is councillors are being blamed for this delay, when the fact of the matter is that council officers are failing to pass information to councillors and are also refusing to listen to councillors’ concerns and suggestions concerning the tenancy of the cinema.”
The group added it had asked for the lights in the cinema, which were “burning 24/7”, to be turned off, at least during the daytime, in order to save costs.
Councillor Alec Brown, who leads the Labour group on the local authority, said: “After months of having an empty completed cinema building on their watch, they are now trying to distance themselves from the situation by naming employees of the council on Facebook. This is yet another issue that demonstrates the clear need for strong leadership. Local elections can’t come quick enough.”
Coatham ward councillor Carl Quartermain, who previously led the Labour group, said the “administration supposedly running the council haven’t got a clue what is going on”.
He said: “Given the long delay in opening Redcar’s Regent cinema it would appear that national and regional operators are either not interested, or are holding back from taking up a contract to run it. The questions are ‘What is being offered?’ ‘What are the sticking points?’ and ‘Can this be resolved?’
“The Facebook post reveals that the current administration is as clueless on this issue as the rest of us. They shouldn’t be.”
Cllr Wells, a former mayor of the borough, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that none of his group were distancing themselves from what he called a “saga”.
He said: “The reason this subject was published on social media was to bring to the public’s attention the frustration of the group and indeed the public at the lack of information and response from officers regarding the cinema.
“None of the group are distancing themselves from the saga surrounding the cinema, but we are attempting to get answers from the officers regarding the progress of finding a tenant and the possible opening date for the Regent. The councillors have also made suggestions to officers in connection with possible solutions to assist the earliest opening of the cinema building, but have received no response.”
“Council officers constantly make decisions which affect the everyday lives of residents and because of this, like councillors, they should be answerable to the residents and not hide behind anonymity,” Cllr Wells added.
“I personally feel that under the previous administration council officers became accustomed to doing things without challenge and that is a culture that needs to be changed. As a group we are trying to make council dealings more open and honest and, although I acknowledge the Labour members’ comments, they might be more aware of this if they attended more of the meetings they are designated to attend.”
The ‘art deco-style’ cinema building replaced the old Regent that was declared unsafe due to its deteriorating structure and closed in 2018, later being demolished.