Revival plans for Oswestry's Regal Cinema could 'draw visitors to town'

Councillors said the restoration of the former Regal Cinema back to its original use had the potential to draw more visitors into the town, one of the council’s key priorities.

The idea was put forward at a meeting on Monday evening by Councillor Duncan Kerr, who sits on the Future Oswestry Group. A working group has now been set up to take the idea forward.

The group, which is leading the development of the Oswestry Masterplan and the High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme, has been looking at the town’s vacant buildings – including the Regal – and how they could be re-purposed.

Plans to restore the Regal were also mooted three years ago when a community group was set up with the aim of combining it with the vacant B-Wise store around the corner to create a single hub for a variety of arts, entertainment and community uses.

Councillor Kerr said the work already done by other parties had laid the foundations for the scheme and found that there were no structural problems with the building.

His suggestion for the council to look into taking forward the project came during a discussion about the authority’s new corporate plan, which sets out the work being done to deliver on a series of priorities agreed by councillors following the local elections last year – including the ambition to develop a new tourist attraction.

Presenting the plan, town clerk Arren Roberts said the document would steer financial decision making and provide clear direction for council staff over the current council term, which runs until the next elections in 2025.

Councillor Kerr said: “It’s always good to have a look where we are against where we are trying to get to with our objectives.

“I think we are doing work across most of them, the one that I think is perhaps lacking in some detail is the objective for investigating options for the development of a significant new tourist attraction for Oswestry.

He said the Future Oswestry Group had done a lot of work looking at the options for the old Regal building and the community interest company had do a lot of foundation work.

"There’s been a property analysis and business cases prepared," he said.

“I think now is the time for the town council to get to grips with that and see whether, having gone through a budget cycle now, we’re in a position where we could carry that forward and deliver on some of the aspirations that people in Oswestry have for the revival of the cinema back into the Regal."

He said the working group should speak to the town’s independent cinema, Kinokulture, and Ingrid Knowles who was leading the previous community project.

Councillor Kerr said: “So much good work has been done. The stage is now set for us to see whether we can now help bring this to fruition and actually make an asset that the town would be proud of.”

He added that the group should not rule out other potential uses for the building, but that “one of the options that will be considered will be to reinstate the cinema”.