Sale town centre is set to welcome its first new cinema in nearly 40 years, as Trafford council has given the green light for a luxury independent cinema to take over a former WH Smith outlet. The three-screen picture house, named The Northern Light Cinema, will be located in Stanley Square, at the heart of Sale's main shopping hub. The two larger screens will accommodate 57 seats each, while the smaller screen will house 39 seats.
According to a report on Trafford council's planning portal, the transformation from retail unit to cinema is deemed acceptable and is expected to boost the vitality of Sale town centre without causing any negative impact on nearby residents. A design and access statement submitted by Derbyshire-based Manero Ltd, the company behind the project, describes the upcoming cinema as a 'welcoming and accessible' building. The aim is to create a vibrant cultural space that will be open to everyone 364 days a year.
The statement further reads: "Our proposal will transform the space into a cinema showing a wide variety of quality films. The cinema will bring a vitality to the evening economy and benefit the current retail developments, bars and restaurants by offering an entertainment venue to complement the Stanley Square scheme." Sale, a town with a rich cinematic history, has seen several cinemas come and go.
The largest was the Odeon, boasting 1,940 seats when it opened in 1934, only to close in 1987, reports . The building remains standing, but is now a.