East Coast Cinema, Lowestoft

On December 5^th 2013 disaster struck the town of Lowestoft as sea walls were breached and widespread flooding ensued following the tidal surge. One such property and business struck was the East Coast Cinema. 

This was the only cinema in the town and, therefore, as a sole provider of cinematic entertainment, incredibly important to the people of Lowestoft. Additionally, there was a huge financial impact on both the owner of the independently run business, and insurers, so the pressure was on to re-open as soon as possible. 

Image from EDP News

Strip out of the wet and contaminated materials commenced immediately, with a vast array of drying equipment installed simultaneously. By the first week of January the cinema had been dried and reinstatement works commenced. The cinema had to re-open by the February half term holiday to avoid a costly loss of business charge to insurers, amidst close scrutiny from the local public and national media. 

Teams worked from 5am into the evening, 7 days a week, and on the last day, as the sweet counter was being restocked in the newly constructed lobby, FTSS left site with all required works completed. The cinema re-opened on Valentine’s night, marking the start of the half term holiday. The same night, the owner of the East Coast cinema was interviewed on Anglia News with footage of the cinema shown on TV. 

Through close working with the business owner, our client, and all our suppliers, the FTSS team turned a disaster into a good news story.