Council 'committed' to keep cinema in town centre

A town council has said it is committed to "doing everything possible" to keep a cinema in its town centre.

Abingdon Town Council has been working on the potential sale of the Abbey Hall, the current base for the Abbey Cinema, to the cinema operators.

This follows its £250,000 investment to deal with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and asbestos that was discovered in the building last year.

The local authority said that would allow for investing in the building "in a way that the council does not have the financial resources to achieve".

The council said the current cinema lease ends on 31 August and the venue needs to be able to book its autumn schedule.

Leader of the town council Jim Halliday said they wanted to see "a thriving cinema in the centre of Abingdon"

"We have been working with Abbey Cinema Ltd to transfer the building to them so that they can carry out their ambitious investment plans," he said.

"We remain committed to working through the legalities so that we safeguard the future of publicly owned areas around the building whilst allowing the cinema to go from strength to strength."

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