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Temporary cinema for town
A MOBILE 120-seat cinema will be coming to Harborough to provide a temporary solution to the lack of facilities in the town.
The 'Screen Machine', an articulated lorry with a trailer which expands into an air-conditioned widescreen cinema with surround sound, has been leased from a Scottish arts group by Bruntingthorpe-based firm Production Imagineers for use in Harborough.
Speaking exclusively to the Mail this week, Harborough cinema campaigner Alastair Campbell said the cinema will be positioned at the rear of the town's leisure centre, on a patch of grass near the hut used by the 1084 (Market Harborough) Squadron ATC.
It could be up and running in time for Christmas if there are no problems obtaining planning permission from Harborough District Council.
He added: "They (Production Imagineers] heard about the campaign and approached us. I thought it would make sense to situate it at the leisure centre as it's owned by the council and there is space for parking.
"I approached the council and they have been incredibly supportive. The cinema will be coming to Harborough, within five weeks at the earliest, but if there are planning issues then we might have to wait until January."
The cinema will show films within two weeks of their release and there will be three different showings each day with popcorn and other snacks available.
It is hoped tickets, priced at about 6, will be available from various outlets in the district and through an online booking system on the Harborough cinema campaign website www.harboroughcinema.com.
Mr Campbell stressed the mobile unit will be a temporary measure and that it will leave as soon as a permanent cinema is up and running.
In the meantime he hopes it will show the viability of a cinema project to potential developers.
The Screen Machine was developed by Scottish arts group Highlands and Islands Arts at a cost of 650,000 in 1998 and was designed to give residents in remote areas access to a cinema.
It proved popular and was even leased by the Ministry of Defence for a tour of duty entertaining troops in Bosnia in 2001.
Tom Moore, a director of Production Imagineers, said the company leased the unit after it became available following the introduction of a second Screen Machine in Scotland.
He said it will be driven to Bruntingthorpe from its current base in Inverness within the next three weeks where it will undergo a full refit, adding that the total cost of the project will be about 150,000.
A district council spokesman said: "We are looking at the possibility of a mobile cinema being located to the rear of the leisure centre, although a number of discussions are still to take place before this can be given the go-ahead."
"I have approached the council and they have been incredibly supportive.
"The cinema will be coming to Harborough, within five weeks at the earliest, but if there are planning issues then we might have to wait until January."
The cinema will show films within two weeks of their release and there will be three different showings each day with popcorn and other snacks available.
It is hoped tickets, priced at about 6, will be available from various outlets in the district and through an online booking system on the Harborough cinema campaign website www.harboroughcinema.com.
Mr Campbell stressed the mobile unit will be a temporary measure and that it will leave as soon as a permanent cinema is up and running.
In the meantime he hopes it will show the viability of a cinema project to potential developers.
The Screen Machine was developed by Scottish arts group Highlands and Islands Arts at a cost of 650,000 in 1998 and was designed to give residents in remote areas access to a cinema.
It proved popular and was even leased by the Ministry of Defence for a tour of duty entertaining troops in Bosnia in 2001.
Tom Moore, a director of Production Imagineers, said the company leased the unit after it became available following the introduction of a second Screen Machine in Scotland.
He said it will be driven to Bruntingthorpe from its current base in Inverness within the next three weeks where it will undergo a full refit, adding that the total cost of the project will be about 150,000.
A district council spokesman said: "We are looking at the possibility of a mobile cinema being located to the rear of the leisure centre, although a number of discussions are still to take place before this can be given the go-ahead."
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Weather for Market Harborough
Thursday 17 May 2012
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