Can I just tell you about something I have started? In June our local cinema closed due to the untimely death of its lovely owner. A few weeks later the family decided to close it down. Its a single screen cinema which showed all the blockbusters. We are 12miles from the next nearest cinema a multiplex which is expensive and needs a car if you are going in the evening as the buses stop before the film ends. SO I wrote aletter to the paper saying why dont we , the people of Melton Mowbray run it ourselves. I was inundated with e-mails etc and requests from the local paper to get it started. So I did. I started a facebook page which now has 465 members and an e-mail contact list of another 100. I formed a small working group from people who said they would help managers, accountants and the like and we have written our business plan, got our papers together to form a Community Interest Company,are bidding for funds from The Big Society held a public meeting attended by 100 people and met with the chief honcos in the local council. I have been on BBC Radio three times and local radio twice and BBC TV Midlands wants to do a feature. We may not get the lease but we will have tried. If we dont get it we will have the beginnings of a good film club. My aim is to open the cinema gain but also do outreach media work with schools as a not for profit commuity interest compnay. My point in syaing all this is to encourage anyone thinking of having a go at running something in their own community to have a go. So may facilities are closing in this recession social enterprises are a way of keeping something open. Please have a look at the facebook page if you have it its called Save Regal Melton it was the fastest way of gaining support and demonstrating needs and wishes of a community when making a bid.
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The same thing happened here with our local cinema - the community now runs a Magic Lantern film club for youngsters, a Cine-Club and due to a change to digital, top films at the same time as the larger local towns. Lots of energy and effort - bu well worth it. BRAVO.Nicola Sturgeons husband pleads guilty.
Robert Kenyon, Reform's candidate for Makerfield. Would you let him in your house?
