Cash-flow help for cinema volunteer group

The Roxy is run by a collective of local volunteers

A council has agreed to help a group of volunteers running a local cinema with its cash-flow "challenges".

The Roxy Collective CIC - a not-for-profit community interest company - took over the historic cinema in Ulverston, Cumbria, in 2023 and began to restore it.

The collective had been awarded a £500,000 grant for the Roxy's further refurbishment to be paid quarterly, with the cinema covering the initial costs of the project and claiming money back later.

But under the new agreement, Westmorland and Furness Council will forward funding, which the cinema will pay back in arrears.

The local authority has agreed to pay the Roxy Collective £489,169, after the cinema provided an initial £10,831, and will then pay back the remainder back to the council.

The Roxy is scheduled for regeneration under the Ulverston Borderlands Town Investment Plan (UBTIP), along with many other buildings in the area, and was awarded the £0.5m funding via the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal.

According to council documents, the Roxy Collective and other grant recipients have "expressed challenges" over cash flow due to the grant money being paid in arrears.

The council document stated that "match funding has already been spent on Phase 1 of the project and will be sought for future phases of the project", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The planned second phase of the refurbishment aims to bring the building up to modern building control standards to create more foot traffic to the cinema and the Laurel and Hardy Museum, located on the ground floor.

A community space and visitor information point is also planned, along with environmental improvements, including solar panels.