Topping out on top of the world at Drake Leisure
Council leader Tudor Evans enjoyed a sneak peek from the top of the Drake Circus Leisure Development as part of a topping out ceremony in the sky bar.
The development is set to open later this year and create a new dining and entertainment destination for both residents and visitors to Plymouth.
Council leader Tudor Evans took in the amazing views from the ‘sky bar’ – which is 32 metres above the ground and is now wind and watertight.
Council Leader Tudor Evans said: “This has been a seriously impressive build.
“This is going bring more people into the city centre – at night as well as during the day, it’s going to be somewhere people can catch a film eat a meal and enjoy a drink – and it’s going to have cracking views across the city.
“Cities need to keep reinventing themselves, keep offering something new to attract people – and this is exactly the sort of project that helps us do that.”
The complex will house a 12 screen Cineworld cinema, 15 restaurants and bars, including a sky bar above the cinema to capture stunning views of the city and its coastline and 420 car park spaces.
The new cinema will incorporate state of the art audio and visual technology with screens ranging in size from an 80 seat to a giant 450 seat IMAX auditoria.
Recent work on site including the concrete pours for the cinemas as well as installing windows on the ground floor.
The scheme is expected to create 350 permanent jobs, as well as large number of people employed in the construction.
David Pollock, Head of Major Retail Developments at British Land PLC, said: “Topping out is always an exciting part of any project but the scale and significance of this development to the future of this city makes it all the more thrilling. British Land believe in Plymouth as this significant investment demonstrates. We are looking forward to being able to offer our customer an exciting new leisure destination as well as the first class shopping experience at Drake Circus Shopping Centre.”
To find out more about Drake Circus Leisure, visit www.drakecircusleisure.com.
Facts about the scheme
– The scheme is going to cover 106,186 sq ft
– The 12 screen cinema complex will cover 40,850 sq ft
– The IMAX screen is over 18 metres tall (18.4m) – this auditorium will have 453 seats and will include the latest cinema technologies. This could include a 4DX auditoria – where film viewing is enhanced with environmental effects such as seat motion, wind, rain, fog, lights and scents.
– There is room for 14 restaurants – and one on the roof
