These striking photographs offer a first look inside Port Talbot's transformed Plaza building - which now houses a theatre, gym, cafe, business hub, multi-purpose rooms, and a digital recording studio - and is set to open to the public very soon.
The Grade II listed art-deco building, which started life as a cinema back in 1940 and was a popular family-friendly destination for decades until its shock closure in 1999, will be re-launching as a community hub with a wide variety of facilities, events and opportunities for people of all ages.
Whilst the pandemic unfortunately slowed down construction work at the site - which was initially set to open to the public in 2021 - the end is finally in sight and people from across Neath Port Talbot and beyond will soon be able to walk through the Plaza doors for the first time in more than 20 years.
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Sharing photos of the Plaza, located in Talbot Road in Port Talbot town centre, a spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council said: "The Grade II listed building has been turned into an eye-catching new centre offering a business hub, office space, a ‘Sir Anthony Hopkins Theatre’, a gym, café, multi-purpose rooms and a digital recording studio. The work, led by our main contractors on the project, BAM Construction, has preserved the much-admired modernist, art-deco frontage of the Grade II listed Plaza Cinema building, giving it a striking, retro look.
"The building, which opened as a cinema in 1940, finally closed its doors to the public in 1999 but was later bought by the council, in order to save the building from further decline. The redevelopment work has been funded by the council, the European Regional Development Fund and Welsh Government.
"Let's not forget, legendary Pontrhydyfen-born actor Richard Burton, who grew up in Taibach, was a regular at the cinema with one of his favourite Hollywood stars being Humphrey Bogart. The two later became friends.
"Sir Anthony Hopkins, who grew up in Margam, was also a regular visitor to the Plaza and in 2017, Michael Sheen from Baglan, who was also a frequent Plaza-goer, produced a documentary on the cinema entitled Port Talbot Paradiso. The transformed Plaza is now due to be run and managed by YMCA Port Talbot, of which Sir Anthony is Patron."
Discussing its location, the spokesperson added: "It is sited on one of the gateways into the developing Harbourside area of Port Talbot on the town’s former docklands which is an extremely important site for future inward investment in Neath Port Talbot. It will also bring further regeneration and vitality to this part of Port Talbot and the town as a whole."
The Plaza in Port Talbot was built in the 1930s and has a rich, colourful history. According to the cinema's former owner, Alex Jones, it was originally built to replace a smaller cinema further down Talbot Road that was destroyed by fire while showing the film FireFly in 1936.
Originally intended to be an Odeon cinema, because of the Second World War, it was never completed fully on time. Mr Jones explained previously: "The Odeon Company pulled out of the partnership...as such, it never opened as an Odeon and became the Plaza."
The first film at the Plaza was Babes In Arms (April 1940), which starred Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, and the venue went on to show hundreds of films and entertain thousands of people of all ages for almost 60 years until its shock closure in 1999.
Abandoned, the cinema fell into disrepair and was crying out for investment for quite some time. Finally, in 2019, redevelopment appeared to be on the cards after Neath Port Talbot Council bought the building and pledged to improve it, with financial investment from Welsh Government and the European Regional Development Fund.
An initial proposal for the Plaza's redevelopment was unveiled back in June, 2019, and was finalised two months later. Plans showed the former cinema converted into a "community hub" with a multi-purpose hall with 250 seats, multi-purpose rooms, a cafe and training kitchen, offices and two retail units.
The following year, work began converting the Plaza into a community hub - but, inevitably, the Covid-19 pandemic brought works to a standstill. The 'new' Plaza was due to be ready by autumn, 2021, but its opening was soon pushed back to 2022. WalesOnline understands its opening date will be confirmed in the coming days.
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