Cinema could return to Gravesend
3:37pm Tuesday 13th February 2007
A 13-YEAR-OLD who single-handedly collected more than 5,000 signatures in a bid to attract a cinema to Gravesend may have an answer to his pleas.
Gravesham Council is planning to run a weekend cinema club in the newly-refurbished civic centre following £4.9m of improvements to its public areas.
Under the proposals, movie-lovers would pay a nominal fee to join a film club and then pay to see the movies on a large screen in the council chamber.
The plans could prove an answer to the thousands of people who say they want a cinema in the town, says council leader Councillor John Burden.
Schoolboy Kieron Butler pleaded for shoppers' support in resurrecting Gravesend's cinema to its former glory.
He spent weekends collecting signatures for his petition in the High Street.
Three-quarters of the cinema building in King Street was damaged beyond repair following a fire in January last year.
The teenager, who is a pupil at St George's School, Meadow Road, Gravesend, lobbied councillors for their support in bringing a cinema back to the town at a full council meeting.
Cllr Burden says it is hoped the civic centre could be screening films from Spring this year.
Because of restrictions on showing films, it is necessary to form a club to be able to broadcast them, he says.
Although the civic centre will not be able to show new cinema releases, it should be able to offer a wide range of films, including world cinema.
The civic centre can seat 150 people, and smaller meeting rooms have plasma screens which could also screen movies, says Cllr Burden.
He says a cinema club could test the market for a full-scale cinema coming back to Gravesend.
The council is currently in discussion with film distributors.