The company behind plans to transform St Andrews cinema to include a celebrity sports bar has lodged an official application with Fife Council.
Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake’s chain T-Squared Social wants to take over the A-listed New Picture House.
And they have asked the authority for listed building consent to convert it into a “hybrid entertainment facility”.
A full planning application for the North Street building will follow.
The company amended its original proposals after a storm of protest in St Andrews and beyond.
And their planning statement to the council says: “The delivery of this entertainment and hospitality attraction will enable a cinema offering to be maintained in St Andrews, while saving the current historic building.”
What do the plans include?
Under the new plans, two of the three cinema screens will be retained, keeping almost half of the existing 700 seats.
And the New Picture House name will remain above the door.
The owners say screen three will be maintained for full-time cinema use.
However, screen one will show live sport and host “enhanced movie experiences”.
They have also applied for the addition of a bar and restaurant, sports simulators, electronic darts and table football.
“This will deliver a fit for purpose, modern operation combining cinema, dining and entertainment facilities under one roof,” they said.
T-Squared Social insists their proposal is the only way to save and preserve both the cinema and the building for the town.
View and comment on the St Andrews sports bar application
They add: “Being solely a cinema that only focuses on transactional ticket sales in times of easy and convenient access to streaming services is not working anymore.
“Without a serious and timely intervention, a cinema offering will be lost within St Andrews.”
Under the plans, the seating, audio/visual technology, heating and air conditioning will also be modernised.
Almost 12,500 people signed a petition against the original proposal for the New Picture House.
However, petition organisers say they are happy with the new plans.
The public can view and comment on the listed building application here.
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