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Film fans fight to save the only cinema in town

Kate Bradbrook/BBC Six people and a dog standing in Kettering town centre holding placards. A woman is holding one which reads "Save our Odeon". Another says "We love films!" The dog is a beagleKate Bradbrook/BBC
A group calling for the cinema to be saved said its closure would be a major loss to Kettering's cultural offering

Campaigners fighting to save the last cinema in a Northamptonshire town have said its closure would leave the area in danger of being "culturally bereft".

More than 1,300 people have signed a petition to save the Odeon in Kettering from closing.

Augur Group, which owns the building, said that over the past five years attendances had "dropped significantly", and the cinema was "no longer viable" and would close early next year.

Odeon apologised to customers and said it would support its staff in the coming months.

The petition was started by David Meagher, who has seen nearly 700 films at the Odeon since the Covid lockdown with his assistance dog, Sally.

He praised its friendly staff and said it was "my only form of entertainment... otherwise I am stuck at home".

Mr Meagher said he hoped enough people would get behind the campaign to save it.

"It doesn’t have to be an Odeon. It can be run by any chain or community interest company," he said.

Kate Bradbrook/BBC A man holding up a board which reads "28 Years Later". He is standing in Kettering town centreKate Bradbrook/BBC
Campaigners held up the names of forthcoming films they would not be able to see if the closure went ahead

Fellow film fan Paul Hanson said: "Half the library is shut, the [Kettering Museum and] art gallery is shut at the moment... this is another cultural asset which we will lose if it goes. We're in danger of being culturally bereft."

Mr Hanson’s daughter Charlotte, 11, said the cinema was "a safe space for children and women to go in the evenings".

She added: "We don’t have many [cinemas] around here and everyone really loves it."

Another regular visitor to the cinema, 32-year-old Oliver Thompson, said: "It means everything to me. Without it I'd be lost.

"The disabled facilities are so important. The disabled spaces are at a good viewing point. If you go elsewhere the spaces are at the front so you're constantly having to look up."

Google The front of the Odeon cinema in KetteringGoogle
The Odeon in Kettering is to close early next year

The cinema opened on the leisure park near the A14 in the 1990s.

Augur Group said the cinema industry had faced severe challenges, including the pandemic and the growth in streaming services.

It said the challenges in Kettering had been "compounded by the opening of the Cineworld at Rushden Lakes".

Odeon said it would leave the site in February and that its main priority was supporting staff affected by the closure.

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