Cinema opening date may be an ‘elusive concept’
AS WORK progresses on the historic Campbeltown Picture House (CPH) some doubt remains about an exact opening date.
Recently completed signage has appeared above the Corramore hoardings but members of Campbeltown Community Business Ltd (CCB), which owns the building, refuse to be drawn on naming a date when it may show films.
On Tuesday, CCB’s press officer Lesley Booth, who also handles media relations for Glasgow School of Art, said: ‘I cannot tell you the date.’
She added that a definite date had been mooted but it would depend on a number of different factors.
An email, seen by the Courier, sent from a CCB account this week, to a possible supplier, stated: ‘A specific opening date is a bit of an elusive concept at the moment.
Specific
‘October is the most specific I am able to be just now, not because it is a secret just because it hasn’t been set in stone yet.
‘As soon as we have something locked in I’ll let you know! There are a fair few people waiting to know the answer to that!’
A CCB spokesperson added: ‘Restoring historic buildings is complex, and unforeseen problems can often be encountered.
‘We had hoped very much to open the cinema in the summer, but the discovery of damp and dry rot late in the day meant that regrettably this was just not possible.
‘The restoration is moving forward as quickly as possible and we are now waiting for one critical issue to be resolved, the delayed reconnection to the electricity grid.
‘We expect to make an announcement on the reopening date and first films to be screened in the restored cinema in the very near future.
‘We are delighted that this weekend we will welcome Audrey, the last remaining mobile cinema, and hope to welcome people to free screenings which will include special heritage films.’
In the middle of August, the Courier reported that a licence application had been made for alcohol to be sold seven days a week at the cinema. A spokesperson said that the outcome of that had no bearing on the date of opening.
Back in June 2015, when the Courier announced that the funding was in place and the Heritage Lottery fund had given CCB the green light to proceed, a potential completion date was set of February 2017.
Screenings
In the interim period CPH staged film screenings at Victoria Hall with the last on the weekend of May 6 and 7 this year.
There is still a slight funding shortfall in the £3.5 million Centenary Project and last week CCB chairman Jane Mayo tweeted: ‘Payday day? Think of @CTPictureHouse please, still seeking funds to realise our dreams.’
The Centenary Project is already supported by many individuals in addition to the following: the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Argyll and Bute Council, Coastal Communities Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund, The Robertson Trust, The Foyle Foundation, the National Lottery through Creative Scotland, Big Lottery Awards for All, and a number of trusts, foundations and companies.
For more film news see page eight.