Sea wall around Redcar's Regent Cinema undamaged by storms

The £9.6m three-screen cinema opened in October 2022

A sea wall "is doing its job" protecting a recently opened Teesside cinema, a councillor says.

Residents had expressed fears over possible damage to the structure around Redcar's Regent Cinema following storms.

Councillor Carl Quartermain said checks showed the wall itself was intact with only an outfall pipe belonging to Northumbrian Water affected.

The firm is due to make temporary repairs next week.

Mr Quartermain, who represents the Coatham ward on Redcar and Cleveland Council as well as being a cabinet member, said: "The sea wall is doing its job, but it is important we have regular checks carried out."

He added consultants had conducted an inspection of the wall and did not find any damage.

'No risk'

Known issues with gaps in flexible jointing had already been programmed in for works, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A Northumbrian Water spokeswoman said: "Our teams are currently putting safety measures in place and a temporary repair will be taking place next week.

"The damage caused to the outfall pipe is only impacting the outside of the structure, meaning there is no risk to the environment here.

"We expect the full repair to be a complex project and so we have scheduled this in for later in the year."

The £9.6m three-screen cinema, operated by Merlin Cinemas on behalf of the council, opened in October 2022 as a replacement for its 1920s-built predecessor.

The old Regent closed in 2018 and was bulldozed after being declared unsafe.