Town cinema shares in £5m lifeline amid crisis
UTTOXETER’S Cinebowl complex has been given more than £165,000 to help it survive as it is forced to remain closed amid the coronavirus lockdown.
The Town Meadows Way entertainment centre, in Uttoxeter, boasts an ice rink, cinema and an eight-lane tenpin bowling alley and has been closed for much of last year due to Government guidelines.
It has now been awarded £165,448 and is one of 33 independent cinemas in the West Midlands to benefit from a £5 million grant from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
The latest grants, awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, build on more than £1 billion awarded to a huge range of cultural and heritage organisations last year.
Other independent cinemas in the West Midlands to benefit from the first round of funding includes The Light, Walsall which has received £292,836 which now totals £300,000.
Reel Cinema (Majestic), in Bridgnorth has been awarded £115,385 and has received a total of £125,381 in funding to date.
The Reel Cinema, Quinton/ Dudley has received £115,385 making a total funding to date of £125,381.
Ben Roberts, chief executive of the British Film Institute which awarded the grants, said: “Across the country, local independent cinemas are lifelines for communities and often the only form of culture and entertainment.
“As well as bringing people together to enjoy the magic of the big screen, local cinemas are hubs for educational and film activities and provide thousands of jobs.
“The pandemic has made clear just how important local communities are and the support of the Culture Recovery Fund means that many cinemas will be able to reopen and play a vital role in local economies and regeneration.”
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has also awarded £3,740,000 to The Black Country Living Museum. The museum is currently operating as a vaccination centre, however prior to the pandemic the museum had been planning the single biggest development in its history which would create a new area on site exploring the history of the region through the 1940s, 50s and 60s. “The new grant will help this ambitious project continue, creating opportunities for work and skills development in the local area.”