A Lochee eyesore is to be demolished after Dundee councillors this week gave the go-ahead for a housing development on the site.
The former Rialto cinema in Grays Lane opened in 1928 and was converted to a bingo hall in the 1960s.
The cinema made history when, in 1929, it became one of the first in the city to show talking pictures. But in recent years the building has lain unused and fallen into disrepair.
Because of its fine interior features, the building was granted B-listed status in 1993.
It was badly damaged by fire and considered to be in a poor state of repair, however, and was then de-listed by Historic Scotland.
On Monday, the development management committee approved plans to breathe new life into the site on the corner of Lochee High Street with what planners describe as “an attractive feature building.”
The development will include 12 flats in a three-storey building, with 16 car parking spaces and a communal garden and drying area. The flats will have two or three bedrooms and some will have balconies.
The site lies on the edge of the Lochee Conservation Area and an application to demolish the former cinema was referred to Historic Scotland, which advised that it had no comment to make on the proposal.
That being the case, the way was clear for the council to approve the application, said a report by council planning officials.
To have the application waved through has come as great news, according to Bob Hynd, a spokesman for Leadingham, Jameson, Rogers and Hynd Chartered Architects acting on behalf of the applicant Mr S. Donald.
“We are just very glad that it has reached its conclusion,” he said. “Obviously it is a fairly high-profile site because it’s on the edge of the Lochee regeneration site. It will become a statement building and mark where Lochee begins.”
It had initially been planned for the work to get under way in the summer but Mr Hynd said a date had not yet been fixed due to the turbulent conditions of the construction industry.