The Rock – Leisure

Date published: 16 July 2010

A new 100,000 sq ft leisure quarter will be created at The Rock, this is anchored by Vue, providing 31,226sq ft of cinema space and an AMF Bowling a 24 lane bowling and entertainment centre.

The scheme also includes eight new restaurant and cafés including Pizza Express and Nando’s, which both are new to Bury, Frankie & Bennys and local Chinese restaurant Flaming Dragon.

Complementing the restaurant brands is coffee shop Barista, Muffin Break, Baguette Express and Costa which over looks St Johns Square and St John’s Gardens, providing a new green space in the heart of the town.

With the addition of the new restaurants brands to the scheme, The Rock will create a new leisure focus for the city, establishing a location for family dining, and encouraging consumer dwell time within Bury.


Vue Cinema

The Vue multiplex will consist of 1,700 ultra comfortable stadium seats across ten screens, three of which are fully digital and 3D-enabled to deliver the highest possible sound and picture quality. The venue will also boast the only ‘VueXtreme’ screen outside London – a super-sized cinema screen, ideal for those seeking the most thrilling, all-immersive, big scale viewing experience.

The original Bury cinema site in Pilsworth opened in 1989 and subsequently operated by Vue from 2003, was one of the first generation multiplexes in the UK. The cinema has had over 15 million cinema visits in the past 21 years, and now Vue is bringing the very best of the UK’s biggest and most technologically advanced cinema, Vue Westfield in London, to the heart of film-loving Bury.

The cinema will include a super-sized ‘VueXtreme’ screen, comfortable VIP seats and incredible 3D film presentation. There will also be low priced ‘Kids AM’ films for young families, unique Teen Screen pricing for 13 to 18 year olds, and a cheap day every Tuesday for everyone. Alternative content such as classical performances, live music and sporting events will also feature at the new venue.

Vue Entertainment is one of the UK’s leading multiplex developers and operators of state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas. Formed in May 2003 with the acquisition of Warner Village Cinemas, Vue is one of the fastest growing cinema companies in the country. Vue’s circuit has 68 cinemas and 657 screens covering the UK and Ireland.


AMF Bowling
AMF is investing around £2.5 million in its new bowling and entertainment centre at The Rock.

Providing a safe, secure and appealing environment, the venue will offer:

• 24 fully computerised lanes 
• A modern bar and diner area with funky seating and an array of delicious food and drink 
• An amusements area offering the latest arcade games, American Pool and Play to Win area 
• Large screen TVs with Sky Sports.

The new centre will also host ‘Xtreme Bowling’, which incorporates the very latest in bowling technology including; ultra-violet lights to illuminate the lanes, glow in the dark bowling balls, and lighting which ‘dances’ in time with music

AMF originated in the US in 1900. It is the second-largest bowling lane operator in the UK, owned by Bourne Leisure following a sale of the UK arm of the business by AMF Worldwide in 2004.

More than 13 million bowling games were played by British customers last year (2009) and their love of the game is set to continue with customer expenditure forecast to rise to £342m over the period 2008 to 2013.