Cumbernauld cinema plan is given green light

A Motherwell-based meeting last week sawy councillors back Hamcap (Cumbernauld) proposals for a cinema and restaurant development at St Mungo’s Road without discussion.

Planning officers had recommended the application be granted planning permission, subject to conditions, which will allow the project to build a cinema complex in the eastern car park of Cumbernauld Town Centre’s Phase 4.

In addition to the cinema, the development will also include a restaurant and cafes. The proposed building is a two-storey flat roofed rectangular building with four restaurant/cafe units and eight 146-seater auditoriums.

North Lanarkshire Council received a total of 63 representations in connection with these proposals, of which 46 were objections, 12 expressed support and two, from Stuart McDonald MP and Jamie Hepburn MSP, were neutral, as they expressed support in principle for the development but also serious concerns about the loss of car parking and additional traffic.

The council’s traffic and transportation team agrees traffic in the area will be increased but a transport assessment showed that the town centre will be able to cope with both the increased amount of traffic and the loss of 154 car parking spaces shown in the plans for this development.

The report presented to the planning committee stated: “In conclusion, it is considered that the proposal, in principle, accords with relevant local plan policies in that the proposed uses are appropriate to this town centre location and because the applicant has demonstrated through the submission of an illustrative scheme and associate Transport Assessment that the scale of development and its impacts can be within acceptable parameters in the context of appropriate conditions being applied to any subsequent detailed plansuchning application.

“Such conditions can limit the scale of the proposal to no more than illustrated in this in principle application and ensure appropriate vehicular and pedestrian access.

“As such, it is recommended that this application be approved, subject to the conditions stated.”

However at this stage it is not currently known which companies, if any, would be interested in operating the cinema.