AMT Public

Community cinema wins top market town award in the North East

A community cinema in Barnard Castle has been named winner of the prestigious Market Town Awards in the North East and will now go head-to-head with projects from seven other regions in the National Market Town Awards.

The Witham Cinema is a single-screen cinema run by the community for the community. In the past, the town had two cinemas, but both closed and the nearest cinema was a 30 minute journey away. This led a band of volunteers to pull together a proposal to set up a community cinema in the town’s Witham Hall.

Project worker Annalisa Ward developed the scheme with the support of Barnard Castle Vision, Witham trustees and a number of local individuals.  There are now 16 volunteers who assist with marketing, selling tickets, serving refreshments and operating the projection equipment.

The cinema launched in November 2009 and to date has screened 41 films, from classics for all ages to the latest releases and world cinema. So successful has it been there are now plans for a purpose-built cinema within a re-developed Witham Hall.

The Witham Cinema was named winner of the Social and Community Category of the North East Market Town Awards and also overall regional winners. The judges commented that this was an innovative response to market failure which could work in many small towns.

The award was presented at a ceremony in Morpeth, Northumberland by Action for Market Towns Board Member Sue Bevan.  They now go head-to-head with other regional winners to compete for the National Market Town Award at the Action for Market Towns Convention in Chippenham, Wiltshire on October 12.

The National Market Town Awards are organised by Action for Market Towns, the national organization with over 400 towns in membership which supports the regeneration and vitality of small towns.

Other winners were:

Business and Economy Category – The Washing Line, Seahouses Development Trust for establishing a commercial laundry as a social enterprise in response to demand from local tourism businesses, who had previously had to send laundry considerable distances away with a  negative environmental impact.

Environment and Culture Category – Promoting Morpeth Heritage for a range of effective, coordinated heritage development activities involving groups within and out of town and the wider community.

Partnership and Strategic Working – Barnard Castle Historic Riverside Revival for a volunteer programme which has restored key pathways in Barnard Castle, opening up views of the River Tees, improving access for the less physically able and restoring an important sculpture garden.

The North East Market Town Awards are part of the National Market Town Awards which each year celebrate the great variety of volunteer-led projects which are helping to regenerate and sustain small towns throughout the country.

Ends

For further press information on the market town awards, please contact: John Pole on 01430 441557. E-mail: john.pole@towns.org.uk

To contact The Witham Cinema, ring Annalisa Ward on 01833 696263

To contact The Washing Line, ring Jon Riley on 01665 721868

To contact Promoting Morpeth Heritage, ring Tamsin Lilley on 01670 503866

To contact Barnard Castle Historic Riverside Revival, ring William Weston on 01833 696263