The British Film Institute (BFI) is in contact with the Woolton Picture House about reopening.
The cinema, found on Mason Street in Woolton, has been closed since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In July 2020, the cinema's owners revealed plans to close permanently due to business lost during lockdown.
However, the historic venue was saved by a combination of a GoFundMe campaign, which raised £24,000, and government money issued through the culture recovery fund, designed to assist venues through lockdown.
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The cinema was awarded £37,809 by the government fund during the pandemic, which was administered by the BFI. The cinema said it collected £25,625 of the awarded funds.
However, the picture house's reopening has become a long and drawn-out affair, characterised by missed targets and broken promises. Supported by nearly £50,000 in funding, the cinema posted on Facebook in December 2021 to announce its plan to reopen in 2022, but this did not materialise.
Ten months of silence followed before a September 2022 statement from the owners said they remained committed to reopening. On October 4 2022, 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.
This update included a promise of monthly updates on Facebook about the reopening process. There have been no updates in the nearly six months since. The cinema has not replied to the ECHO's many requests for comment, while local councillor Kris Brown has dismissed the reopening plans as "hot air" due to the ongoing silence.
However, this week the BFI confirmed to the ECHO that it remains in contact with the cinema's owner about the reopening process.
A BFI spokesperson told the ECHO: "We can confirm that the BFI is in communication with the owner of the Woolton Picture House cinema about their plans to reopen. However, in terms of business sensitivity and probity it would not be appropriate for us to comment publicly on the detail of our conversations or any cinema’s plans until those plans are ready for making public.”
Those in Woolton who told the ECHO last week of their love for this Liverpool institution and the importance of its reopening will hope that occurs sooner rather than later.
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