Pier Pavilion Cinema

DavidSimpson on May 20, 2017 at 2:06 am

Despite the £4.1m part Lottery funded restoration in 2013, which included the construction of the current digital cinema, Penarth Arts and Crafts (PAC), which leases the Pavilion from Vale of Glamorgan Council on a 125 year lease, closed the cinema on 6th March 2017.

A petition was raised by filmgoers faced with the loss of the town’s only cinema.

PAC responded by putting out this statement: “First of all we would like to acknowledge the strength of support for the Cinema as evidenced by the number of signatures to the on-line petition. We welcome the many statements made about the importance of the Cinema not only to local residents but also those from further afield. We can assure you that there is no plan to close the Cinema ‘indefinitely’ as reported in some local media, however we have recognised that, to ensure the long term future of the Cinema and of the Pavilion as a whole, we need to make some temporary changes to our operations.

The last three years have shown quite clearly that with the limited capacity of the 68 seat Cinema the income from ticket sales will never be enough to cover the costs of running the Cinema. As a registered charity we cannot continue to provide facilities that are uneconomical as is the case with the Cinema. We have therefore drawn up a plan to secure additional independent financial support from a variety of possible sources. This will enable us to maintain the Cinema in the longer term and to keep ticket prices at an affordable level. Over the coming months we will regularly review progress on our future plans and hope very much to be able to re-open the Cinema sooner rather than later."