A luxury independent cinema is coming to Sale town centre and is set to be the town’s first new cinema for nearly 40 years.

Trafford Council has approved an application from Manero Ltd for the change of use from a former WH Smith outlet into a three-screen picture house.

The retail unit in Stanley Square amid Sale’s main shopping hub will now become The Northern Light Cinema.

Internally two screens will accommodate 57 seats and the other screen will house 39.

A report on Trafford Council’s planning portal says: “The proposed change of use from a retail unit to cinema is considered acceptable in principle and would support the vitality of Sale town centre. 

“The external alterations would provide an appropriate design and appearance and there is not considered to be any negative impact upon nearby residential neighbours from the use of the premises as a cinema.”

A design and access statement submitted on behalf of Derbyshire-based Manero says the new cinema will be a ‘welcoming and accessible’ building.

“The plan is to create a vibrant cultural space in Stanley Square, in the heart of Sale with equal and convenient access for everyone 364 days of the year. 

“Our proposal will transform the space into a cinema showing a wide variety of quality films. 

“The cinema will bring a vitality to the evening economy and benefit the current retail developments, bars and restaurants by offering an entertainment venue to complement the Stanley Square scheme.”

Sale has seen a few cinemas in its past, the largest of was the 1,940 seat Odeon which opened in 1934 and closed in 1987. 

The building still stands but it is now a retail outlet with most of the old cinema unused.

The oldest cinema was The Palace, opened in 1910 where silent films were shown before installing a sound system for the ‘talkies’ in 1929. 

Closed in 1954, it survived until 1962 as a theatre before being destroyed by fire. 

The ’posh’ cinema, The Savoy, or Savoy Cinema-de-Luxe as it was originally known, opened in 1913, went through various owners and finally became an Associated British Cinema (ABC) in 1937 and renamed as such in 1963. 

The Savoy eventually closed in 1977 then demolished and has been replaced with a block of flats. 

The fourth and final cinema in Sale was The Warwick, the theatre-cum-cinema. With its 36-foot stage, and many dressing rooms it was able to house the town panto every year but the familiar fate of many cinemas befell the Warwick when it burnt down in the late 1960s.

The town that once had thousands of cinema seats was reduced to none by the late 1980s.

Currently, the nearest cinemas are Odeon Trafford Centre, Vue Salford and Everyman Altrincham.