New
development to give former Tees cinema major facelift
44 | Tees Business
Joe Darragh has revealed exciting new plans to convert part of The Picture House in Billingham into a high-end restaurant .
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New
By Martin Walker
development to give former Tees cinema major facelift
An historic former picture house dubbed “ the heart of Billingham ” is set for a major facelift – and could soon be home to a swanky new restaurant .
Tees property specialist Mandale Group is investing £ 200,000 to completely re-shape one half of The Picture House , a much-loved building which sits on the corner of South View and Mill Lane in the town .
The developers have identified the site as a prime location for a new high-end restaurant to follow in the footsteps of several other retailers and a micropub , which have successfully established themselves within the 90-year-old structure .
Mandale Group originally purchased the property 40 years ago and converted the main part of the building into a snooker hall and bar .
But following the decline of snooker as a popular pub sport in recent years , the first floor has made way for a purpose-built fitness studio .
Meanwhile the ground floor – formerly the main entrance to The Picture House – is now home to micropub the Hog ’ s Head , which has already proved a smash hit with locals , as well as six other small businesses , creating a thriving hub of independent retailers .
Another side of the building has until recently been used as a car dealership , which has relocated to Stockton .
And Mandale Group ’ s head of property development Joe Darragh told Tees Business : “ Now is the time for us to invest in this grand old building again , to give it a new lease of life and bring something new to Billingham .
“ We ’ ve already had a lot of interest in the building for other purposes , but we felt it needed to be regenerated again and given a completely new direction , while also enabling the existing micropub there to expand , as it desperately needs more space due to its success .”
Part of Mandale ’ s refurbishment of The Picture House will create a new 2,500 square foot facility with outside paving and seating areas .
“ We think there ’ s a real market for a high-end restaurant here ,” adds Darragh . “ If you speak to a lot of people in Billingham , they have to go to Norton , Stockton or Middlesbrough for a nice meal .
“ So this would fill a gap and would be an ideal location for an Indian , a Thai restaurant , a Chinese or a Tapas bar .”
Nicola Parsons opened the Hog ’ s Head micropub at the front of The Picture House 18 months ago , and now needs more space to expand .
“ Weekends are really busy and it gets a bit tight , so we want to create a pool room and get a pool team going ,” said the 38-year-old .