Published Friday 21 May 2021 at 16:19
Blackburn’s newest addition – Reel Cinema have opened to their first customers at the impressive new cinema and leisure complex.
The multi-million pound development, on the former Waves site in the town centre, has six premiere lounge screens, with large leather seats, and two Reel lounges with plush sofas and extra legroom. It has an under croft carpark with four hours free parking for cinema-goers.
It comes as cinemas re-opened across England earlier this week, along with indoor spaces at cafes, restaurants and bars.
The cinema has brought in a range of measures to ensure they adhere to government guidelines and ensure visitor safety. These include:
- Requiring all customers to log into the national track and trace system
- The wearing of face masks inside the cinema until seated,
- Hand sanitiser stations
- Operating limited seats available for all performances
- Staggered film times to allow for social distancing.
Muhammad Faisal, head of operations at Reel Cinemas, welcomed the first guests on Monday. He said:
It is with a grateful heart that we have been able to open and bring big screen movies into the heart of the Town Centre for the local community and beyond.
As a team we are so excited that just over a year since we started construction work to transform the former Waves building into a modern cinema, that we can finally welcome guests.
We have been working really hard behind the scenes to carry out all the government’s Covid-19 safety measures. We want everyone to feel safe so that, anyone can come, relax and enjoy the ultimate cinema experience we have to offer.
The venue is the first of its kind in the town centre for over a decade and is billed as an affordable experience, with reasonable ticket prices and affordable food and drink offers.
Michelle Howarth, Site Manager for Reel Blackburn, added:
We can’t express enough how delighted we are to finally open our cinema doors to everyone! We have had amazing initial reactions and feedback and thank everyone so far for their support.
Denise Park, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Chief Executive visited the new cinema on Monday and added:
The quality and spec of the cinema is very impressive and really adds to the buzz and vibrancy of the town centre.
It’s also really reassuring to see that Reel have gone to additional lengths to ensure enhanced Covid measures are in place to help customers feel safe when they visit.
Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Growth and Development at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, added:
Reel’s opening this week marks another exciting moment in Blackburn’s future. We think the quality of this addition to our town centre speaks for itself and shows that if we can achieve something of this calibre in the middle of a pandemic then we have nothing to fear when it comes to future large-scale projects in our borough.
The project plays a fundamental part of the regeneration of the Northgate area of town.
In a time when the Government expects councils to be financially self-sufficient, schemes like these are incredibly important to ensure we can generate income with long term building leases and support the delivery of services for our residents.
The vision of having this leisure facility in the heart of our town, right next to the college, leisure centre and King George’s Hall is to further strengthen the wider regeneration of this part of Blackburn as a destination hub for leisure activities.
Simon Jones, the Council’s Growth Programme Director, who has been leading the project, said special thanks go to Barnfield and Capita for all their assistance in delivering this high quality project, particularly during the challenging circumstances of the past year.
The Reel Lounge experience offers two tiered luxury options. The first tier grants access to the luxury screen as well as a welcome drink and table service for £5.50.
The second tier, a £10 ticket (£17 for two), will grant guests full access to the Reel Lounge menu, which includes popcorn, nachos and ice cream following their welcome drink. To visit the cinema’s Premiere Lounge screens visitors pay £2.50 before 1pm & £3.50 after 1pm.
Recent research highlighted that for 59 percent of the UK population, cinema going is their most missed out of home entertainment activity.
Customer Rachel Hind from Blackburn was one of the first customers to visit with her two daughters on Monday to watch Peter Rabbit. She said:
We have had a year of practically not steppi
ng foot outside of our own neighbourhood.
This is the first time we have been out as a family together for social time and the children have been so excited. I felt nervous but it felt very safe, with plenty of space and not too many other people around. The cinema looks amazing; we can’t wait to come again.
All screens will be wheelchair accessible and the cinema will offer subtitled screenings and kids’ clubs and to ensure there is something for everyone.
There is also a café and a bar on-site and with all the screens licensed, guests can enjoy a beer or glass of wine while watching the film.
The cinema plans to show the latest blockbuster and independent films as well as broadcast screenings of opera, ballet and theatrical productions.
Catherine Price, Blackburn Business Improvement District (BID) manager, said the opening of the cinema is an exciting prospect for the town. She said:
It was an emotional moment to see the cinema open its doors for the first time. This is partnership working at its best and will be an exciting new chapter for Blackburn Town Centre. We are confident the cinema will be a significant draw for families and people of all
ages.
The new cinema space has a licensed bar serving hot and cold drinks, favourite snacks like hotdogs, nachos and popcorn, as well as Sweet Barrels for sweetie treats and Cream &
Cones for ice cream and waffle lovers. A Virtual Reality gaming area and other entertainment are on offer too.
To see the listings and prices, visit Reel Cinema Blackburn.