CINEMA goers will be spoilt for choice this autumn when they visit the Curzon in Knutsford.

Residents and visitors to the town will have three screens to choose from thanks to a £1 million redevelopment of the Toft Road cinema.

Curzon chiefs are to transform the cinema by adding two further screens, as well as revamping and extending the café bar.

Work has started on the scheme, which will see the number of seats at the cinema increase from 170 to 312.

The current screen has 170 seats, which will reduce to 141, and the two new screens, to be created in rooms at the back of the building, will boast 111 and 60 seats.

The increase from one to three screens will enable the cinema to cater for different age groups and interests and offer a wider range of films.

The improvements will also offer added comfort for cinema fans with the introduction of Skeie Solist Norwegian seating.

Work to transform the cinema is due to take 20 weeks to complete, with the new screens set to open in early August.

At that point the front of the building will be closed to allow for work on changes to the current screen and the café bar and seating area.

The whole project is due to be completed by the middle of September, and the cinema will be open at all times during the work, with the side entrance being used when work takes place at the front of the building.

Rob Kenny, the Curzon’s director of cinema development, said: “We have grown the audience each year, and have reached the stage where the Curzon brand is accepted in the town and we want make the cinema something really special.

“The improvements represent a weighty investment for us, and I think they will be well received.

“We are spending £1 million in adding an extra two screens and improving and enlarging the existing cafe bar at the front of the building.

“We will be able to have a wider range of programming and be able to retain films for longer periods.

“The proscenium arch in the Cranford Suite will be retained and incorporated into the improvements.

“The café bar is going to be doubled in size, and will have a totally new look, based on the art deco feel of the building.

“The cinema seats we are installing are really comfortable, and five times better than what’s there now – I think people will be impressed by the difference.”