Fears are growing that a historic cinema will close for good after months of silence regarding its reopening.
Woolton Picture House first opened in 1927 and welcomed generations of film fans over the past century. However, the Mason Street venue has not yet reopened since the covid pandemic.
The ECHO has covered the ensuing saga as pledges have not been kept and targets have been missed. After initially planning to reopen in 2022, October saw the cinema share its revised target of opening in Spring 2023.
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The statement in October also included a plan to offer monthly updates on the reopening process. There have been no further updates since that announcement, leading a local councillor to now brand its plans as "hot air".
Issues regarding the cinema began when it announced in 2020 that it was closing for good, due to business lost during lockdowns. However, this decision was reversed after a crowd-funding campaign and taxpayer money provided the cinema with a lifeline.
Around £24,000 was raised by the crowd-funder, while the cinema was awarded £37,809 by the government's culture recovery fund during the pandemic, of which it said it collected £25,625.
Buoyed by nearly £50,000 in funding the cinema posted on Facebook in December 2021 to announce its plan to reopen in 2022. This did not happen.
The announcement was followed by almost 10 months of silence, during which the picture house did not post on Facebook or respond to the ECHO's many requests for comment.
This changed at the end of September 2022, when the cinema took to Facebook to say it remained committed to reopening. On October 4, the picture house then announced it would not open in 2022 but shared a two-phase plan for reopening, with an initial target of spring 2023 - subject to the "stability" of the financial climate.
The first phase involved reopening the cinema in its existing single-screen form, while phase two would see it transformed into a "cultural venue" with a second screen, stage and function suite. As part of this announcement, the cinema's owners committed to providing monthly updates on the progress of its plans.
This pledge has not materialised. Five months into another period of silence from the cinema's owners, fears are mounting that it will not open again.
The cinema's most recent Facebook post has a number of comments from people asking for the promised monthly updates. Paul Doyle said: "You're really not portraying a good example here and it’s starting more and more to look like it’s never going to reopen and the money people kindly donated has gone for good.
"I offered to volunteer to help do some of the restoration work and give up my free time as I enjoy the cinema that much but no one ever responds and nothing seems to be getting done."
Kris Brown, who is a Liberal Democrat councillor for Woolton, has made frequent pleas for communication from the cinema. He said the issue fills his inbox more than any other.
About the ongoing silence from the cinema's owners, Cllr Brown told the ECHO: “It’s pretty clear from the lack of communication that any plans to refurbish and reopen were hot air.
“A shame really. With multiplexes feeling the strain from streaming services like Netflix and Disney, we’re almost returning to the age of the single screen picture houses - where a film is more of an event. It seems Woolton won’t be there."
He added: “I’m sure you can sense my frustration after trying so hard to make contact. My door is still open to get in touch, but I won’t hold my breath.”
The British Film Institute (BFI) administered the culture recovery fund on behalf of the government during the pandemic. In September, the ECHO reported that the BFI had been assured that Woolton Picture House was committed to reopening in 2022.
However, today (February 9) a BFI spokesperson told the ECHO: "At this time we have no further information about the reopening plans for the Woolton Picture House".
When the ECHO visited the cinema today, it appeared as it did in September. The redecoration is unfinished, while faded posters for Peter Rabbit 2 - a film initially due for release in March 2020 - remain next to the doors.
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