PLANS to add a new cinema, homes, and a hotel at Windsor Yards as part of a £68m investment have been approved.

At the end of 2022, UREF LP property fund submitted its scheme to transform the ageing town centre as part of a £100m investment. The plans have now been approved.

The Windsor Yards approved planning application will includes:

  • A four screen Everyman cinema
  • An Apart-hotel for businesses and visitors
  • Office space to support the town centre
  • Better landscaping with seating

It is hoped the changes will make Windsor Yards more attractive to businesses, particularly restaurants and bars, creating 1000 jobs.

Via a social media post, Councillor Samantha Rayner, said: "This will make an enormous difference to our high street by encouraging footfall and supporting the current shops and businesses too.

Read more: Windsor Yards plans reveal new cinema, hotel, and flats

The planning application outlined that a new four-screen boutique cinema with a capacity of 307 seats would be placed on the east side of Bridgewater Way, above the existing retail units. The entrance will be created next to Mooboo with the foyer, bar, and seating provided on the first floor.

To the south of Windsor Yards, it is proposed to be a mix-used area that could include a six-storey office building and a 104-room Apart-hotel, which could be up to six-storeys in height. Both buildings will have access from Bridgewater Way.

The scheme also proposed to refurbish the existing 24 flats above the shops fronting the western side of Bridgewater Way.

Landscaping of the area will include a new pocket garden to the south, along with an outdoor café and restaurant eating areas, raised planters with seating, and improved lighting.

Within the planning application, it stated little has changed at Windsor Yards, which was originally called King Edward Court, since it first opened in 1980, so the revamp is welcomed.

Developers have also agreed to look at changing its name.