Cirencester's Regal to stay open as long as possible (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Cirencester's Regal to stay open as long as possible

THE OWNER of Cirencester's Regal says he will keep the cinema going as long as he can before the bulldozers move in.

John Angel said negotiations over the new houses, which have been given planning permission to be built on the Lewis Lane site, could take months.

Cotswold district councillors have approved plans by developers Heritage Homes Wessex to demolish the 1930s Regal Cinema and bingo hall and build 22 houses and six affordable flats and maisonettes.

Developers have said they hope to start work on the site next June.

Mr Angel said he hoped the cinema would be open for as long as possible provided people used it.

"All they've got is planning permission and negotiations might take months.

"We're proposing to keep the business running for at least three, four or even six months if we can keep it above water.

"We're going to keep the cinema going as long as we can.

"We've got some big films booked and it will be months before we actually terminate."

The cinema is showing 'the big three' - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets followed by the new James Bond movie Die Another Day and the Lord of the Rings film The Two Towers.

Plans to build a two-screen cinema in the Corn Hall in Cirencester are still unclear because a decision on whether to grant a £600,000 Lottery bid has not been made.

Independent cinema operator Mainline Pictures has been waiting since last year to find out if its bid for the cinema has been successful.

Cotswold District Council, which owns the hall, has earmarked £1 million to revamp the building but cannot press ahead with the scheme until the Lottery funding decision is made.

A spokesman for the Film Council said: "There hasn't been a decision made as yet.

"The application is being reviewed as part of the process."