DETERMINED 11-year-old girls from Harborough have started a petition calling for a cinema to be brought to the town centre. 

Lucy Seaward, of Sandringham Way and Mollie Drewry, of Coales Gardens, have used their own initiative to launch the petition which they hope to place in shops and at their school. The youngsters, who have just left Little Bowden Primary and are about to start at the town’s Welland Park College, have suggested the former Kwik Save site in Northampton Road as one possible site which has sat derelict since the supermarket closed in June 2005. Pleas for a cinema in Harborough have intensified over the last few years with parents and young people saying there is a lack of facilities in Harborough for the district’s growing population. Lucy and Mollie have drawn up the petition on a computer and it will be placed in the Mail reception from today (Thursday). 

Lucy and Mollie said: “We think that Harborough having a cinema is a good idea because it would get more children off the streets and therefore they would have something to do rather than put graffiti on walls and boards around Harborough, making it look very dirty and maybe giving the wrong impression. 

“Also, we think that it would be a lot easier for adults with young children because they wouldn’t have to go very far to see a good film. It would be a much greener way to see a film at the cinema, for it is in walking distance of most areas.” 

The girls plan to ask teachers at Welland Park to let them put the petition there and town firms are being called on to help carry the petition. The pair want to hand the petition to Harborough District Council to show the strength of feeling in the town. The old Kwik Save building occupied the original Ritz cinema building which operated between 1939 and 1978 before becoming a bingo hall and then Kwik Save in 1984. 

Mark Slatter, a director of Alislane which owns the Kwik Save site, said: “We are shortly submitting an application for 35 retirement homes and space for a 5,000sq ft shop on the front. “Sadly with the emergence of Sky Movies, DVDs and movies on-demand there is just not the demand to allow a commercial cinema enterprise to flourish on this site.” 

What do you think? Email alex.blackwell@harboroughmail.co.uk, write to the letters page or post your comments on our website.  If your firm would like to have a petition, phone the newsdesk on 01858 436004.

The article appeared in full in the Harborough Mail and remains their copyright – see wwww.harboroughmail.co.uk for the full story.

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If you think it would be good to see a cinema back in the town centre and if you disagree that the old cinema building should be knocked down then please sign our online petition.  We want the old building restored belive that with the town groing population it would make a financiallly viable cinema once more.  If you agree please ask as many of your friends as you can think of to visit this site and sign up to support us!

Thanks to Nick and all at HFM.  Lucy, Mollie etc were interviewed about bringing cinema back to the town with a view to broadcast on Wednesday’s breakfast show and in news on the hour across the day.  Nick was very impressed by the girls agruments to have the building converted and was very supportive to us.

To hear the interview and updates on the campaign keep listening to HFM for developments on how the event is going.  Listen at www.harboroughfm.co.uk or at 102.3 if you are in the Harborough area.

Alastair

Thanks to BBC Radio Leicester for carrying the story about our campaign to bring cinema back to Harborough this afternoon.  The live interview took place just minutes after our new site went live.  Rupal’s show in the afternoon devoted 15 minutes to the story and resulted in a number of sign ups.  They were interested in future developments in the story.

Fellow BBC Radio Leicester presenter Chris Baxter from the afternoon show (2pm – 4pm Monday to Friday) joined in the discussion on air.  He moved to the town earlier this year and was very enthusiastic about the idea of a cinema coming to the town.

Alastair

Hi All

Keep checking here for all the updates to the campaign, feel free to comment on any posts