Protest march to save Penrith cinema

Mr Stewart said he would like to see the community run the cinema

More than 100 protesters have marched through the streets of Penrith in a campaign against plans to close the town's cinema.

Although the Lonsdale Alhambra cinema is profitable, the Bingo hall next door is not and its owners want to rent out both sites.

A petition against its closure has been signed by 2,900 people.

MP for Penrith and the Border Rory Stewart said he would like to see a community buy-out.

He said: "With all this energy we need to get all these hundreds of people together, and I would like to see a community buy-out.

"This is a profitable enterprise and a business that really matters to people.

"Make the council say it can only be a cinema and not a pub or anything else, get people to contribute and we can run it as a community asset and make some profitable return."

Staff thanks

The company that owns the building, Graves (Cumberland), said the cinema would close on 3 March.

A statement said the decision was not made "lightly" and thanked staff for their loyalty.

It said every effort had been made to make the bingo hall a success, but this had failed and had had a knock-on effect on the cinema.

A statement from Graves (Cumberland) said: "As a result of the bingo hall's closure and to ensure that the property remains a viable business, it is with much sadness that we also announce that the cinema, housed in the same building, will close on 3 March.

"We would like to thank all staff and customers for their loyalty over the years."