‘Harborough Screen’ was successful last night in obtaining planning consent from the council planning committee to site a mobile cinema unit in the town.  The decision paves the way for the first full time cinema in Market Harborough for almost 40 years.  The cinema will be located off St Mary’s Road close to Symington’s recreation ground on land previously used as a bowling green.

The project began over 4 years ago with a petition started by local schoolgirl Lucy Seaward.  In total 8,000 residents showed their support for a return to the town of a cinema.  Since then the organising committee have overcome various hurdles and last year secured a 100 seat mobile cinema unit for the town which is to be housed on the site.  Last summer a fundraising drive began to raise money to refurbish the unit through public membership, seat sponsorships and funding applications.  This raised enough to begin the work to refurbish the unit which is currently underway at a site near Wellingborough.  The funding raised to date has been used to transport the unit from its base in Scotland, revamp the exterior of the unit, repair the roof, refurbish the interior, replace and add additional lighting and purchase a new digital projector.

“It’s been a long struggle to get the cinema this far and I don’t think anyone involved would have believed how many obstacles could be put in our way.  This planning permission marks a major landmark in the campaign” comments Alastair Campbell one of the trustees of the project. Marion Lewis OBE, Chair of the trustees added  “We are delighted that the cinema has been able to secure a central location within the town.  This location ensures that  many residents will be able to be able to walk to the cinema, although there is ample parking nearby for those who will need to use  transport.  It will be a cinema showing films for the whole of the community.”

Planning officers delayed the application by 3 months over potential issues of noise from the cinema affecting nearby residents, and required additional sound reports to be carried out.  ‘Although the sound reports we produced showed that noise from the unit would not be an issue to residents nearby, we cannot prove this 100% until the unit is on site.  So, the cinema will use wireless headphones (with individual volume controls) for all customers initially – in fact it will be the only cinema in the world to do this” adds Marion.  Once on site and fully operational, it is hoped that further sound tests will show that this measure is unnecessary and the Dolby speakers already housed in the cinema will be used as originally planned.’’

The planning meeting voted unanimously in favour of the proposal with widespread messages of support for the project from the councillors present. In a survey carried out in the summer, 90% of Harborough residents said that the St Mary’s Road site would be an ideal location for the cinema with 92% saying that they would use it once it was opened.

The event takes place on Tuesday July 5th from 6.30pm till 7.30pm.  It is a chance to meet some of the people behind the project and see how the plans and refurbishment is coming along.

Local architect Martin Russell has worked with both projects and a planning application has been submitted to Harborough District Council to refurbish the former Bowls Pavilion on Symington Recreation ground. The proposals would see this Building, which was donated to the town by the Symington family in 1930, sensitively refurbished to allow it to once again be used for the benefit of the people of the town. The plan show that the building would be used as a youth centre for after school and evening sessions throughout the week, providing a much needed provision for the young people of the town.

The building has been designed to allow it to be used by other community groups, for example as a community Café where parents can socialise whilst children enjoy a safe space to play.  Harborough Screen have also submitted a planning application for the same site which would see a 100 seat cinema unit located close to the club house. This would be the culmination of a lot of hard work by all involved with Harborough Screen, to bring a Cinema to a central location in our town.

The two projects are inviting anybody from the town or surrounding villages to attend a second information evening being held in the former Bowls Pavilion on Tuesday the 5th July from 6.30pm until 7.30pm. It located off St Mary’s Road on the right hand side, just before the Recreation ground. The Charities work and plans will be explained in full, you will be able to view the planning proposals, and Trustees and young people involved with both organisations will be on hand to answer questions and listen to concerns.

The town planners are looking for your feedback.  You can leave your comments here by following the link below.  If you do feel that the cinema project will be good for the town we would strongly encourage you to express your views.

http://pa2.harborough.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=makeComment&keyVal=LKO244HW0FV00

Last year plans were announced to bring a full time cinema to Harborough for the first time since 1976.  With support from the public and local business owners enough money was raised to complete the majority of the work.  Cinema organisers are now hoping that companies in the town will support the project and sponsor the few remaining seats.

Garry Aston, Working Breakfasts current chair says “As business owners and residents of the town we all want to see the Harborough Screen here as soon as possible.  It will be good for the economy of the town and be a great asset to the community which is why we are so happy to support it as a group.

Marion Lewis OBE chair of the Harborough Screen says “A big thank you to all the generous businesses at Working Breakfast for supporting the cinema.  You are a great example of how business and community can pull together for the good of everybody.

The ‘Working Breakfast’ group meets weekly at The Angel Hotel on the High Street every Wednesday from 7am till 8.30am where businesses swap leads and generate new business.  The first visit is free and includes a cooked English breakfast.  Interested local companies call 01858 44 55 43 or visit www.workingbreakfast.com to find out more.


The good news is that even at ear splitting levels (The Star Wars theme played on a loop at levels above those allowed by Heath & Safety guidelines) virtually no sound escapes from the cinema unit.  It is very important for us to be good neighbours, and as a community not for profit project we want the continued support of the town.  This report shows that noise issues related to the screening of films will not be a problems for nearby houses and the report has been submitted to the council for further scrutiny.