CROSS the threshold of a Swansea gem which thousands of people once queued to get into and you step back in time, and then forward again.
There can’t be many buildings like the former Castle Cinema, with its sign warning people not to spit as it “is one of the chief means consumption is spread” as well as a “disgusting” habit. Offenders of the spitting byelaw could expect to cough up a fine of up to five pounds.
Castle Cinema was built shortly before the outbreak of the First World War and went on to screen films for nearly 80 years before being reused as a laser game venue.
Cinema projection equipment remains in situ, along with the original pay booth, and there’s a large “no smoking allowed” sign at the rear lower level where the building’s oil heater used to be.
Upstairs, flyers for big-screen hits such as Rambo, Top Gun, Back to the Future and A Fish Called Wanda tilt you forward to a more recent era. Plans to convert the building into 30 flats and two commercial units – including potentially a restaurant in a glass side extension – take you to the present day.
Planning consents for developer EasyLiving Ltd and its partner, housing association Beacon Cymru, are in place and site set-up work is being pencilled in for May.
Andrew Parry-Jones, Beacon Cymru’s regeneration manager, said: “It was getting to the point where if something was not done it (the building) would be lost.”
The challenge, he said, was not just the grade two-listed building but finding a viable use for it and funding. “We could not have done it on our own,” he said. “Others have tried and failed.”
Grant funding from two Welsh Government sources – one administered by Swansea Council – will contribute to the 27-month renovation project.
Castle Cinema descends from Worcester Place down to The Strand at the rear and is adjacent to Swansea Castle – a grade one-listed building and scheduled ancient monument. It overlooks Castle Square, which the council will soon start transforming into a greener space with a couple of food and beverage units.
At the far end of the square there are plans to create new flats for private rent in the block partially occupied by McDonald’s while the council is creating a new central hub a few metres away on the corner of Oxford Street and Princess Way.
“Three years down the line you might see this become the heart of the city centre,” said Mr Parry-Jones, who felt it had gravitated towards Quadrant Shopping Centre. He added that the 30 flats would be offered for intermediate rent, which is less than private sector rent but more than social housing.
EasyLiving Ltd has worked with Beacon Cymru on other projects in Swansea, such as new flats at Sketty Cross. Steve Ingham, EasyLiving’s technical manager, said Castle Cinema’s exterior and entrance lobby would be retained, the roof replaced and a new interior structure installed to enable the large internal space to become flats. Former occupier Laser Zone has relocated to nearby St David’s Place.
The glass side extension for restaurant use was reduced in scale following comments made during the planning process. It was described as “a bold addition” and essential to securing commercial use of the west side of the building in a report which went before the council’s planning committee last August. The report acknowledged it would result in the loss of some existing building fabric but on balance was acceptable.
Deputy council leader David Hopkins recalled watching the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Castle Cinema and said he looked forward to people living there. Asked if the council had ever considered acquiring it, as it had the Palace Theatre, he said not as far as he knew, but added: “We were keen to make sure that something happened.”
Mr Parry-Jones said the renovation project would protect Castle Cinema’s heritage, provide people with a place to live and introduce a new and different type of space. “I think this has a whole number of outcomes,” he said.
