25
Apr
‘Why Ripon is ripe for the return of cinema’
For two men who never planned to open a cinema, John Tate and John Hewitt have come a long way.
Their adventure started in 2015 when they bought single-screen Ilkley Ciinema. “It was a side bet for both of us,” says Mr Tate. “But we learned on the hoof and now cinema has taken over our lives.”
Ilkley did so well they added a second screen in 2018. In the same year they bought the rundown Wetherby Cinema, spent £600,000 adding a second screen and quadrupled the number of visits.
Ilkley Cinema
Wetherby Cinema
Now they’ve bought the large unit on Fishergate in Ripon that housed Woolworths and then, until March, the Original Factory Shop, and plan to transform it into a three-screen cinema.
The prospect of cinema returning to Ripon after a gap of more than 1,000 days since the Curzon closed on nearby North Street in 2023 has given the town a major boost.
Asked about the venture, Mr Tate gives refreshingly direct answers. How much it will cost to refurbish the three-storey, 10,000 square foot premises?
About £1.5 million. It was £1.25 million but we keep getting prices in and everything is more expensive than we thought it would be. There’s a lot to do. The building is tired — it hasn’t had money spent on it for a while.
The Original Factory Shop on Fishergate.
As for the timescale, he says they hope to secure planning permission by May 19, spend 26 weeks converting the site and open on November 27.
They have acquired a 20-year lease on the premises off the landlord, who are a family in the Middlesex area.
Mr Tate says:
“We are serious, proper people,” says. “We have a plan and we are not mucking about.”
Screen 1 at Ilkley
'Ripon has similar feel to Ilkley and Wetherby'
Why Ripon, and not nearby Knaresborough or Harrogate? Mr Tate says:
Ripon is bigger than Knaresborough. Harrogate is already served by Odeon and Everyman. Ripon is probably the only city in the country that doesn’t have a cinema. It also has a similar feel to Ilkley and Wetherby.
The two men are friends with Robert Sterne, director of Ripon firm Sterne Properties, which owns the former Curzon site.
Mr Sterne planned to reopen a cinema on the premises but negotiations with Curzon, which still has a long-term lease on the site, are ongoing and the deal fell through.
Mr Tate says Mr Sterne introduced them to the Fishergate site, which he adds better suits their requirements as the Curzon site was too small.
The new cinema, he says, will show a wide films ranging from Hollywood blockbusters and independent foreign films, “with a skew towards grown-ups”.
Their Ilkley and Wetherby cinemas are number one and two in the country for tickets sold for live National Theatre bookings, which highlights their diversity.
Screen 2 at Ilkley
People will have to book. Because the three screens will only have a combined capacity of about 157 seats, Mr Tate says it isn’t feasible to expect to just turn-up.
He also hopes people embrace using the site outside the evening:
“We have a strong daytime audience at our other cinemas, and I hope Ripon buys into this. 35% of our business is before 4pm.
The prospect of being able to go to the cinema in Ripon again before Christmas has captured the imagination. After years of the Curzon saga being on pause, many will be hoping that this story plays out quickly and that film returns to the city soon.
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