YORK’S Reel Cinema is hoping to transform an alleyway into a sweetshop.

Kailash Suri, owner of the former Odeon picture house, has submitted plans to City of York Council to allow a retail unit to be built in the alley which runs alongside the cinema.

Mr Suri said: “The alley runs past the cinema to the car park, but at night time people tend to sit there and make a mess of the place.

“It doesn’t look pretty and it is not hygienic and takes a couple of hours to clean. This causes a problem and we decided to get round it by making a small kiosk.”

The plans for the new retail unit go before the council in August and, if approved, will see the alleyway filled in and a small retail outlet built in its place, from which Mr Suri plans to sell ice cream and confectionery.

“If it gets the go-ahead we’d like to get it built as soon as possible. I’d hope to take on three members of staff to man it too, one full-time and two part-time.”

The Grade II-listed Art Deco building reopened on June 19 last year after having stood empty and boarded-up for several years after the Odeon announced its closure in 2006.

The cinema recently announced it was celebrating its first anniversary by opening a fifth screen, seating 35, which would enable it to show more films, and allow greater flexibility in moving films from screen to screen.

Mr Suri also announced last month that 3D technology was to be installed in a second screen, after a successful launch in the large auditorium in April, and seating improvements would be made in screen one, giving customers more legroom.