Former Paignton cinema gets £3m for restoration

The money from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport puts the cinema on target to re-open in 2025

A former seaside cinema which is being restored has been given nearly £3m from the government.

The Grade II* listed Paignton Picture House in Devon closed in 1999.

But the money from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport puts it on target to reopen in 2025, the cinema trust said.

Paul Hawthorne, chair of Paignton Picture House Trust, said he was "thrilled" the picture house was "being recognised more widely".

The art nouveau-fronted 450-seat cinema, which opened in 1914, is one of the earliest purpose-built cinemas in Europe.

The trust will get £2.4m for restoration and £700,000 for ancillary work

The funding would allow restoration to continue towards a new cinema with a "flexible mixed-use space that not only celebrates local heritage but will allow more people within the community to become involved in culture and heritage".

The trust will get £2.4m for restoration and £700,000 for ancillary work, it said.

The money comes from a national £48m fund to support museums, galleries, libraries and other cultural organisations and venues through the government's Cultural Investment Fund.

The trust aims to submit full planning applications this summer, with work starting on site in 2023.

Councillor Mike Morey, cabinet member for Infrastructure, Environment and Culture on Torbay Council, said: "The Picture House is a special place and I'm delighted that together with our community partners we are able preserve and conserve it for generations to come."