A run-down cinema building in Bacup is to be restored and repurposed following the town being granted over £1million in funding.
The former Regal Cinema is one of 22 buildings which will be renovated as the town becomes a High Street Heritage Action Zone, and £1.085m in grant funding has been confirmed.
The properties will be given ‘a new lease of life’ but retaining their original architectural features, by using ‘traditional materials and techniques’.
Buildings will be repurposed to meet the needs of the community as part of the plans, and a ‘cultural consortium’ will be established to provide cultural activities in the town and supply new life to the high street.
The former cinema made headlines in 2019 after an ‘urban explorer’ gave a glimpse inside the dilapidated structure that has sat empty for over two decades.
It first opened on September 7, 1931, with 960 seats split between stalls and balcony, replacing the Gem Picture Palace.
Read more:https://www.lancs.live/news/former-bacup-cinema-restored-brought-18425159