Future Secured for Wellington Cinema

02/03/2020 Andy Smith

The board of Wellington Orbit have announced today that the lease on the building which houses the 63 seat cinema has been extended until 2030.

The independent cinema opened in 2019 following a share subscription where anyone could take a stake in the project. Sited in the old HSBC bank, the Cinema, which also features a cafe, is right in the heart of the town, has recently seen sell-out screenings of 1917, Joker and Downton with films like Parasite, Military Wives and Emma coming up this month.

Chairman Phil Morris-Jones MBE said "This announcement marks the end of many months of hard negotiation."

"The new lease is invaluable in enabling us to access a greater number of grant opportunities and we will now be actively looking to develop the two upper floors of the building. We are looking to achieve this through a mix of grant funding and additional share subscriptions."

"We already have around 800 members and will be reigniting our efforts to enhance our membership base which we see, together with a robust balance sheet and a strong business plan as key in influencing grantors that funding the upper floor development is an appropriate use of their funds.”

The cinema opens 7 nights a week and is currently showing Robert Downey Jr in Dolittle.

The facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wellingtonorbit/

The website: https://wellingtonorbit.co.uk/