The Grade II* listed Plaza Stockport is one of the best surviving examples of Art Deco architecture and super cinemas in the UK. Before this project, the building had suffered from structural problems including water ingress and a broken roof, and had been used as a nightclub and a bingo hall.

The Plaza was built in 1932 and was designed to provide recreation for Stockport’s largely working class population with a mixed programme of cinema and live performance. This project painstakingly restored the theatre’s opulent decoration, and restored it to its original use as a venue for performing arts and cinema.

As part of the restoration, various works were carried out with utmost attention to historic detail. Specific areas of renovation included:

• total replacement of seats
• refurbishing the terrazzo flooring
• addressing access issues

Today the Plaza continues to actively collect appropriate heritage artefacts to use and display, such as projectors and statuettes, to ensure that the building retains as much of its original appearance as possible.