THE construction of a brand new cinema to replace an iconic venue on a town’s seafront is well underway – with Teesside steel being used.

The old Regent cinema, in Redcar, was demolished last year due to safety concerns about the building and a new three screen picture house designed to seat nearly 200 people, as well as café area with spectacular sea views, is now being built.

Building works commenced in September last year after £9.68 million was allocated by the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority.

The Regent is due for completion in spring next year, with reopening to follow shortly thereafter.

A total of 100 tonnes of steel will be used with 82 per cent of the steel produced in the borough.

The rest was obtained elsewhere in the UK, since our area doesn’t produce the right type for certain sections of the building.

The foundations and new seawall are complete and the structural steel frame and concrete staircase are in place.

Concrete floors have been completed and the roof and cladding will be added in the coming weeks, with an expectation that the structure will be water-tight in the autumn.

Councillor Wayne Davies, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, said: “It is wonderful to see the vision for a new Regent becoming a reality week-by-week as the structure grows and I, for one, can’t wait for it to open and cinema to return to our borough once again.

"This will not only provide fun and entertainment for residents and visitors for generations to come but is part of the wider regeneration of the borough and just one of a number of exciting regeneration projects. These projects not only create jobs directly but improve our offer as an area to other investors.”

Mark Laidlaw, Project Manager from BAM Construction UK Ltd, said: “Works on site have been progressing well. With steel complete, we turn to our external cladding systems in the coming weeks. Works have now commenced on the curtain walling system with glass expected to arrive in early September. Internal works have commenced too with some early proprietary works, including paint works and drainage.

"The terracotta cladding system will then progress thereafter in late September, thus seeing us well on track for completion early 2022.

"We look forward to welcoming everyone not long after for lights, camera, action.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen added: “It’s great to hear of such quick progress and that Teesside steel is being used to construct what will be yet another iconic building to grace our coastline.

"As we look to recover our economy from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we need to do all we can to get people back into our towns, spending money in our brilliant businesses and investments like these will go a long way in growing confidence.”