Cinemas ‘need all the support’ they can get
A CINEMA owner has made an emotional plea to the Calderdale public to reinvest in independent picture houses.
Charles Morris, who owns Rex Cinema, in Elland, spoke about his devastation after being forced to shut, but confirmed he now plans to reopen next month. Mr Morris, who owns another five cinemas including the Rex, said with the bigger cinema chains ready to open such as Vue and Cineworld he is asking the public to look to independent cinemas to fill their film-going experiences as soon as lockdown is over. He said: “I’m looking to August now to reopen because all the major new releases have been postponed until next month. “It’s been difficult during lockdown, but I run a tight ship at my cinemas and I was able to get the £10,000 business grant from the government for each of my cinemas, apart from the Roxy in Ulverston, but I had an arrangement with my landlord - so there wasn’t really an issue there,” said Mr Morris. “That’s why my message to the people of Elland, Halifax and others within Calderdale is cinema-goers are needed more than ever. “We’ll need all the support we can get. “Classic style cinemas are part of our heritage, and it would be a shame to see them disappear.”
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