QUESTIONS RAISED AT WIVENHOE CINEMA PUBLIC MEETING 30/1/10

• Is the building structurally sound?
• What sort of structure is the building i.e. brick, wood? What sort of seating is envisaged?
• What will be the seating capacity of the cinema?
• Isn’t it possible to have a structural survey done before the building is purchased?
• Who owns the building?
• When is the deposit due to be paid and why can’t the structural survey be done in this interim period?
• £100K budget for renovations may go over. Are we looking at continuing fund-raising?
• When the cinema is finished will it be financially self-sustaining or will it continue to need community funding?
• What steps have been taken to get planning permission from the local authority?
• Have approaches been made to the University?
• Has there been any antagonism from people living nearby or concerns raised about noise and parking?
• Audiences for ‘blockbusters’ may cause the most noise – should the cinema be showing them?
• Will there be opportunities for local students of film and media to showcase their work?
• If there are to be 2-4 film showings a week, it sounds as if a lot of volunteers will be needed and possibly at least one paid member of staff. Has this been taken into account?
• What will volunteers be required to do?
• Are we in contact with other independent cinemas?
• Will the community be involved in film programming?
• Will soundproofing be adequate e.g. keeping out train noise?
• What will be the price of admission?
• What do we get for £250 Life Membership?
• Which funding bodies are being approached?
• If the cinema is constituted as a charity, can tax be clawed back?
• It sounds very exciting! What can we do now…?

We will use these as the basis of a detailed FAQ page as soon as we can.

In the meantime here is our summary of the main issues:

Purchase
Finance
Day to day running
Community

Purchase/ structure/ structural survey/ planning permission

Our offer to purchase the building for £75K from the present owners, St. John’s Ambulance, has been accepted. We are now negotiating an option to complete the purchase over a year via a £7.5K non-returnable deposit. We will engage a structural engineer to survey the building; we will then draw up plans for renovation and apply for planning permission. The structural survey won’t delay the purchase; the building will need extensive structural work including a new roof, floor etc. We would expect a budget of £100K to cover renovation. We will have a contingency plan for over-run and will look at further fund-raising possibilities throughout. We are fortunate to have the free services of local architect Bryan Thomas for design. Planning permission is not seen as a problem as the Local Authority/ Town Council are keen to have the building saved and brought into use. As soon as the building is owned, it will be opened for community use as Phase 1 of self-sustainability.  It is envisaged there will be two further phases of development before the cinema is completed and up and running. Health and Safety regulations and those regarding accessibility for all sectors of the community will be adhered to and every effort will be made to keep the project ecologically sound and low-cost.

Finance

The cinema is set up as a non-profit making charitable trust which will mean we can claim back tax on donations – in fact people who have already donated money will be contacted to ask them to fill in the appropriate form to make this possible. The business plan is being overseen by a qualified accountant. We will be approaching Screen East, which administers Arts Council money via Rural Area Initiatives, for funding and compiling a list of other funding/ grant aid bodies to approach – e.g. there may be money available for digitalisation. We are in contact with other community cinemas and will tap into their experience and expertise in these matters. If anyone in the community has knowledge/ideas they could share with us on this, could they contact us via website. The cinema will be run on an ‘annual membership’ basis; Annual membership will be in the region of £5. Life Membership at £250 will guarantee priority booking for films/special events, will be acknowledged in publicity and in the cinema itself and may carry free entrance to certain films. We will also be looking for business sponsorship.

Cinema day to day running

We are hoping to create a real cinema experience in miniature that will draw people in. The décor will be attractive with perhaps a balcony and there will be confectionery etc. on sale. We are looking at retractable seating although we have an offer of free fixed cinema seating from Southwold cinema. We are also considering raking the auditorium. The cinema will be available for use by other community groups, see also Phase 1. It is envisaged that tickets will cost £5, that there will be 2 showings per week to begin with, to be increased to 4 showings a week plus matinee showings. We are aiming at 30% occupancy for each showing to be in line with other community cinemas. Overheads will be kept as low as possible and there will be self-generating income from a range of sources/activities from an early stage. The loss/profitability hurdle will be kept quite low – as a charitable body we will not be looking to make a profit. Wivenhoe cinema has a large catchment area – surrounding towns and villages and the university – and will be creative in drawing in other interested audiences. Day to day running will require a sizeable volunteer base – Harwich for example, which is a much larger enterprise running 5-6 showings a week, runs on 50 volunteers with a paid box-office cashier. Each showing will require volunteers for the box-office, ‘usherettes’, film projection, cleaning, opening up and closing etc.

The cinema and the community

The cinema’s close neighbours were approached at an early stage and their concerns re noise, parking are being addressed. Parking nearby at the station car park is a preferred option as it is free in the evening, although the cinema is ideally situated for local transport – buses and trains – and many people will walk. It is planned that a pavement will be laid down between the public car park and the cinema for wheelchair/buggy access and to minimise gravel noise. The cinema will be thoroughly soundproofed (losing windows) and air-conditioned. 90% of performances will finish at 10.00 p.m., 100% by 11.00 p.m. Longer performances where this is not possible will be forewarned.
Quiet dispersal will be requested at the end of each performance.
The community will be involved in film programming as far as possible – suggestions for film seasons/individual films can be posted on the web-site – but obviously will depend on availability. There will be a mix of films and associated activities on offer including ‘blockbusters’, as independent cinemas depend on these for revenue. Community ‘ownership’ of this project is essential if it is to succeed, especially as the community has been a valuable source of funding and will be depended on to supply the necessary volunteer base. There will be a need to balance commercial viability and community requirements however.
Local school, college and University students will be encouraged to showcase their productions at the cinema – we are liaising with Film and Theatre Dept. at Uni. where the Volunteers Co-ordinator has also been approached – the experience of working in a cinema will be valuable.
People who wish to get involved should put their names on the mailing list and the website will also contain info on volunteering at different stages in the project. We will need continued help with fundraising ideas and action and also with re-furbishing the hall.