PLANS to convert a former garage in Liphook into a 60-seater cinema have been given the thumbs up by East Hampshire District Council.
Cars will no longer be the stars at Anchor Garage as an application by Tiger Hill Ltd to redevelop the site has been approved.
A ‘vibrant mixed-use development’ that provides ‘cinematic, commercial, social and residential facilities’ will take its place as a pair of townhouses and a restaurant are part of the application.
Work on ‘The Living Room Cinema’ scheme will begin shortly while its first film could be screened at the end of the year. It’s the realisation of a dream for founder and Liphook resident, Claire Beswick, who secured the backing of senior industry executives to deliver her vision.
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East Hampshire bin collections to shift over Christmas and New Year“I’m delighted to be bringing cinema to my home town,” said Claire, a veteran of the industry who was recently named one of the Top 50 Women in Global Cinema.
“I started The Living Room Cinema with one aim: to provide smaller provincial locations with a quality cinema offer.”
Parts of the complex, which has been vacant since October 2015, will be demolished to make way for the ‘hub’ with a new frontage building being part of the plans. The application was largely supported by residents but 13 letters of objection amid concerns about possible noise during the evening were lodged.