Impressive timelapse video shows demolition of Wakefield's ABC Cinema

The demolition is expected to be completed in March 2023, as the first step towards preparing the area for construction.

When complete, the area will be converted into a temporary open space while the other buildings are removed. Construction is expected to start in 2024 and completed in autumn 2025.

Coun Denise Jeffery, Leader of Wakefield Council, said: “We are pleased that the demolition is now underway, and that the regeneration of the Kirkgate area - a key gateway into our city - can continue.

“This an exciting time of investment and change for our city centre and for the wider district’s economy.”

This is one of several projects that form part of the Wakefield City Centre Masterplan and will jointly transform the city centre into a thriving and culturally vibrant city by making it adaptable to changing consumer demand and achieving new growth in residential, retail, culture and entertainment sectors.

The ABC Cinema was a Wakefield hotspot for over 85 years, offically opening as the Regal Cinema on 9th December 1935.

In its prime, the cinema thrived within the district hosting a variety of artists alongside showing films.

Most famously, the building welcomed The Beatles, who played at the cinema on Thursday 7 February 1963, months before they found international stardom.

The building closed in 1996 after ABC's cinemas were sold to The Cannon Group, leading to it being left abandoned through the millennium.