Woolton Picture House has stated its intention to reopen but has not provided a date, in a first post on social media since December 2021.
The cinema took to Facebook on Wednesday (September 28) to thank people for their support during an extended period of closure. However, it apologised for the delay in reopening and did not provide a planned reopening date.
Having been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, the cinema shared its plans to close for good in July 2020. However, after receiving support from the government and a GoFundMe campaign, it posted on Facebook in December 2021 to announce that its intention was to reopen in 2022.
READ MORE: Unfinished decoration, faded posters and no answer as historic cinema remains shut
Until today, the cinema had not provided any further updates on its page. During that time, the ECHO has reported appeals from the community in Woolton for clarity about its reopening plans, as well as the fact that the cinema received £37,809 from the government's Culture Recovery Fund in order to support it through the pandemic.
As all remained quiet on the Woolton front in recent months, the ECHO attempted to make contact with the cinema, but the only replies have been automated messages on email and Facebook. However, Wednesday's Facebook post - the first on the historic cinema's page for over nine months - provides an update about the cinema's future plans.
It read: "We hope our message finds you all (our wonderful and valued customers) well.
"The continued support and warm wishes during the cinema’s period of closure has been truly heart-warming and we are touched by the sentiment with which Woolton Picture House is held within the hearts and minds of so many; a sentiment which we also share.
"Woolton Picture House is an integral part of the fabric of our community and a precious part of the history of Liverpool, which we are firmly committed to upholding, restoring, and re-opening.
"The sense of community spirit and actions of support have been beyond expectation, and we would like to thank you all for your kind words and very generous contributions to the GoFundMe page, especially during such challenging times. We are very appreciative that Woolton Picture House has been extremely fortunate to have very kindly received public donations and BFI funding during 2020 to help to maintain the building and its continuing overheads whilst the cinema has been closed.
"It is our full intention that we will re-open, but regrettably, we are unable to indicate an expected timescale. We understand that this will be disappointing, as we all wish to sit once again in the plush cinema seats to watch a Classic or Blockbuster movie. But restoration of this beautiful, historic venue back to its original form does present many challenges that has led to the delays in opening the cinema, to which we can only apologise and reassure that we will re-open our red doors.
"We are looking forward to welcoming you all back so you may enjoy the big screen experience in your beloved cinema once again and we express, our sincere thank you to all our customers for your ongoing support and good wishes. Your kind words and heartfelt support are very graciously received.
"We will keep you all posted on our re-opening date."
Having first opened in 1927, the Mason Street venue cited the pandemic's "devastating and unforeseen circumstances" as the reasons for its July 2020 closure. However, people rallied to support and save the cinema.
As such, the historic venue was rescued with a GoFundMe campaign, which raised more than £24,000 in donations from the public during 2020 and 2021. Moreover, the ECHO reported earlier this month (September 7) that the GoFundMe money was not the only financial support that the cinema received during that period. Woolton Picture House was also awarded £37,809 from the government 's Culture Recovery Fund in order to support it through the pandemic, meaning it was assisted with a total of around £62,000 from external sources.
Despite the funding, news on plans to open again remained quiet until December 2021, when the cinema set its 2022 target to reopen. The picture house provided no public updates on this in 2022 - before today.
The British Film Institute (BFI) told the ECHO this month that it had been informed that the cinema "intends" to open this year. On visiting the cinema recently, the ECHO saw that redecoration was unfinished, while posters remained for Peter Rabbit 2, which was initially due for release in March 2020.
In this statement, the cinema has now reassured its customers that its restoration is in progress and has made public its intention to reopen. However, people will still have to wait for a confirmed date that its projector will roll once again.
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