Huge new 10-screen multiplex cinema plans revealed for major Edinburgh shopping centre

The new cinema, in Cameron Toll, will be operated by Empire and could open by Christmas 2021.
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A ten-screen multiplex cinema will be heading to Cameron Toll if plans for the development are approved.

Proposals from the Cameron Toll Community Neighbourhood Centre, which is already home to a large Sainsbury’s and 42 other retail units, can be revealed exclusively by the Evening News today.

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To be built as an extension to the existing centre, the cinema will be operated by Empire Cinemas and include three new leisure units which will be targeted at potential restaurant tenants.

CGI impression of what the new cinema could look like (Photo: Cameron Toll)CGI impression of what the new cinema could look like (Photo: Cameron Toll)
CGI impression of what the new cinema could look like (Photo: Cameron Toll)

Cinema could open in 2021

If plans are approved, work is due to start on site next summer with the cinema open in time for Christmas 2021.

The development has been described as “exciting” for the shopping centre, which enjoyed more than 4.5 million visitors this year.

Planning consent already exists on the site for a cinema and leisure development, but the proposed scheme is smaller in scale and primarily cinema and leisure based rather than retail, said the developers.

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Cameron Toll has seen a 4.5 per cent rise in footfall, a marked contrast to the majority of the retail sector which has seen footfall and revenue fall in recent years.

'Exciting development'

Claire Jefcoate, Cameron Toll’s general manager, said the development aims to increase the variety of what is on offer at the shopping centre.

She said: “This marks an exciting new development for Cameron Toll and one I am sure our customers are going to love.

“These proposals are about expanding our offer and ensuring that we continue to evolve and meet the demands of the modern-day consumer.

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“With our footfall numbers rising year on year, it is clear that local neighbourhood, convenience centres such as Cameron Toll play an important role in the communities they operate in, something that in south Edinburgh we are very proud of.”

Empire Cinemas to run multiplex

The cinema will be operated by Empire Cinemas who run 14 sites across the UK.

Formed following the merger of Odeon and UCI and Cineworld and UGC after the Office of Fair Trading ruled both new groups would have to lose a number of their cinemas which led to a gap in the market.

The Cameron Toll development will be the second Empire cinema complex in Scotland, following their opening of the Empire Clydebank in Glasgow.

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It will also be the first major multiplex development in the south of the city, with Vue at Ocean Terminal and the Omni Centre, with the Odeon cinemas at Fort Kinnaird and Wester Hailes the other major multiplexes in the city.

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