Dendy expansion gets the nod

Marrickville Council has approved the application to expand Newtown Dendy Cinemas.

Under the plan, six new cinemas will be added and capacity will almost double from 528 to 998 seats.

Dendy National Operations Manager Nick Hayes said the expansion will mean they will be able to play more quality films.

“There’s a lot of niche films that we don’t have space to play at the moment because there are only four screens,” he said.

“There are over 200 films released in the Australian market each year, so there’s a lot of independent and quality films that we can’t get onto our screens currently.”

According to the plan, the ground level music store will be converted into an office and candy bar and the height of the building itself will increase to accommodate the new cinemas.

The new cinemas will be built in a warehouse located above the complex that is currently used to house accounting documents and film rolls.

The development application came with specific council conditions upon approval including selecting an artist to paint a mural.

At the entrance to the Dendy car park- on Lennox Street, a local artist will be commissioned to do a mural on the blank wall behind the building.

Mr Hayes said the Australian film industry is up 15 per cent this year and demand for independent films in the inner west is growing.

“We see there is huge potential within the inner west- there’s a greater population to serve” he said.

“[With the Dendy] also being one of the few remaining arthouse quality cinema venues in Sydney, there’s a market there for us to tap into,” he said.

It is expected the six new cinemas will be completed and ready for audiences by the end of 2011.