The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) has been given the go-ahead for a cinema and children's play equipment on lawns during the summer months.

Last December the Solihull attraction applied to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council to temporarily install a marquee, cinema screen and children's play towers on landscaped lawns next to Pendigo Lake.

The NEC Group said in a planning statement: "The development would operate for a limited period each year only, with all structures installed and removed annually and the site fully reinstated following each season.

"For the 2026 season the proposed operational period would run from March to the end of September, allowing for installation and decommissioning on either side of this period.

"The use is ancillary to the established operations of the NEC and would not result in any permanent change of use or built development."

The statement said the outdoor site would be open 10am to 10pm in the week, 10am to 9pm on weekends and bank holidays.

"The proposal represents an acceptable temporary, seasonal leisure use within the NEC estate," the statement said.

"It is ancillary to existing operations, reversible in nature, and compliant with planning policy."

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No objections were made by Solihull consultees including flooding and public protection while Bickenhill and Marston Green Parish Council made no observations.

And on March 31 officer Mark Andrews, the council's head of planning, design and engagement services, issued a decision notice granting planning permission subject to conditions.

The conditions include that all structures installed shall be removed annually outside of the spring and summer months and that the "applicant and operator of the sites will follow standard NEC operating procedures for management of the site".