See inside Wellington Orbit's new studio, café and community rooms as long-awaited transformation completed

Wellington Orbit has unveiled a transformed first floor, adding new studios, workspaces and a café with panoramic views after more than a decade of community effort.

For seven years, the ground floor of the former bank on Station Road has housed Wellington Orbit’s much‑loved community cinema and café.

Now, after 14 months of work by contractors, staff and volunteers, the once‑derelict upper floor has been transformed into a suite of flexible community spaces.

The revamped building now includes several meeting rooms and workspaces, but its standout addition is the new Fiona Hunter Studio - a bright, high‑beamed space named in honour of the late local theatre director and founding Orbit member, who died in 2022. The studio will soon host everything from dance classes to children’s parties.

Another major highlight is the Great Escape café, a striking new space offering 180‑degree views across the market town. Like the other rooms, it has been designed for versatility, with plans for quiz nights, comedy, workshops, exhibitions and live music.

The expansion marks a milestone in a journey that began in 2012, when the Clifton Community Arts Centre Limited launched its campaign to bring cinema back to Wellington.

Its original ambition - to reopen the former Clifton Cinema on Bridge Street, empty since the late 1980s - never materialised, and the building was sold to a developer in 2017.

But the vision survived. In 2019, the team opened a 63‑seat cinema and café in the former HSBC bank, and since then volunteers, staff and directors have worked to raise funds and plan the wider refurbishment.

Manager Damian Breeze, who has been with Orbit since it moved into Station Road, said: “For the last seven years I’ve been saying ‘maybe next year, it’s coming, maybe next year...’. Now I can say it’s here. We’re very excited.”