A MULTI-SCREEN cinema will be coming back to Oswestry, if one senior town councillor is successful with his latest motion.

Green Party member Councillor Duncan Kerr has put a motion forward asking town clerk Arren Roberts to begin the process of gaining ownership of The Regal, in Leg Street, in order to restore it to its former glory as a cinema.

Cllr Kerr says the council should be providing ‘services and assets’ to residents and he believes that includes a new cinema now that Kinokulture has closed its doors.

OTHER NEWS:

His motion stated: “The town council has an objective of providing a new asset which will attract visitors and serve residents as well.

“For several years the council has worked to re-establish a cinema in the Regal building where it would improve the night-time economy.

“The recent decision of Kinokulture to close now means there is no dedicated film venue in the town.

“I am sure that members will join me in thanking Ruth and Ian (from Kinokulture) for the years of dedication and commitment they have shown over the last decade and equally wish the film club well in showing classic films at a variety of venues in the town.

“The benefits of a cinema are well understood by Shropshire Council who are planning to build a brand-new cinema as part of the refurbishments of their Shrewsbury shopping centre using money provided by the government from levelling-up programmes.

“It is extremely disappointing, and a contradiction to the aims of this programme, to see the money used to increase provision in an affluent town that already has several film venues, in preference to provision in the more economically deprived second largest town in the county.

Get in touch

Share your views on this story by sending a letter to the editor. To get in touch email news@bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk, or fill in the form on this section of our website.

“Recognising that the council still has the legacy of a windfall capital receipt and has determined that this should be used to revitalise the town centre economy, it is moved that the council instruct the clerk to start negotiations with the owners of the Regal to acquire the freehold of the building so that the council can then work with operators to reestablish it as a multiscreen cinema.

“This may mean a re-adjustment to the work programmes to free up resources.”

The item will be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting at the Guildhall from 7pm.