THE BRIEF

Supporting the transformation of St Andrews’ historic New Picture House.

Orbit Communications was appointed to provide strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and public affairs support for proposals to transform the historic New Picture House cinema in St Andrews.

The proposals sought to secure the long-term future of the much-loved listed building by creating a new family-friendly cinema, dining and entertainment destination in partnership with T-Squared Social, backed by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake.

The project presented a significant communications challenge. Prior to our involvement, the emerging proposals had attracted strong local opposition and concern about the potential loss of the town’s cinema and the impact on an important part of St Andrews’ heritage.

Our Approach

  • Developed and delivered a comprehensive communications, stakeholder engagement and public affairs strategy.
  • Established clear messaging around the central objective of protecting the long-term future of the New Picture House and retaining a cinema offering in St Andrews.
  • Engaged proactively with local elected representatives, community stakeholders and other interested parties, listening carefully to concerns and ensuring feedback was understood by the wider project team.
  • Helped communicate how the proposals evolved in response to community feedback, including retaining two of the three cinema screens and the main auditorium. This included the promotion of what was proposed via a widely-circulated video.
  • Delivered proactive media relations around key project milestones, positioning the proposals as an investment in the future of an important St Andrews institution.

Outputs & Outcomes

  • Helped transform the communications environment surrounding a project which had faced strong opposition prior to Orbit’s appointment.
  • Helped demonstrate that community feedback had been listened to and acted upon, with two cinema screens retained, including the main auditorium.
  • Supported a proposal that safeguarded the historic New Picture House building and retained its name and cinema use while enabling it to evolve into a wider entertainment and social destination.
  • Helped turn a potentially contentious development into a positive story about heritage, investment and securing the future of cinema in St Andrews.
  • Secured the granting of planning permission by Fife Council, subject to conditions. The negligible opposition to the application meant that this was a delegated decision and did not require to go to the Council’s planning committee.