Former owner of Oswestry's Regal cinema pours scorn on council's bid to re-open

Trevor Harris, who ran the Regal in Oswestry from 1983 until it closed for good in 1994, says the town council’s ambitions to buy the building and restore it to its former use would cost a huge amount of money and would not draw in the number of customers needed to make a profit.

Aside from the general decline of the industry in recent years, Mr Harris has concerns that the council does not have the required expertise to make a go of the venture.

He said: “These councillors basically haven’t got a clue how to run a commercial cinema.

“I have been in the business for 60 years and I know cinemas inside out. If you’re not very careful you’re going to lose your boots.

“The council just sees a building. They don’t understand the complexities of it.

“They have talked about going to the Independent Cinema Office (ICO) for advice, but the ICO knows nothing about Oswestry.”

Mr Harris said significant changes made to turn the building into a shop, after he sold it to Seconds Ahead, would need to be reversed at great expense if it was ever to show films again.

He said: “The Regal can’t be used again as a cinema because the original balcony was taken out and another floor was put in right through the building.

“All of that has got to come out to open the building right up, and it’s going to cost a fortune to do it.

“If you try to play films in there now, because of the floor levels you would have a picture like a postage stamp.

“To get that building right and get it working again properly is going to cost hell of a lot of money.

“I would like to see it open again but at what cost?”

Even if the money can be found to reopen the cinema, Mr Harris said it would not prove viable because of the rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+.

He said: “Some film companies are selling direct to streaming, others are leaving it about seven weeks then going to streaming services or out on DVD.

“Apart from when you’ve got a big film, like a Spiderman or a Bond, most of these films are not taking a lot.

“Takings on some of them are shocking, and it’s all due to streaming and the pandemic.

“Streaming is slowly killing cinemas – several have already closed.”

The town council has agreed to look into buying the Regal from its current owner and investigate whether it could be re-opened, but any final decision would need to be based on a full business case prepared by specialist consultants.

Town clerk Arren Roberts said: “At the markets and town centre committee last week the council considered a report which detailed some of the key issues associated with the building.

“A significant amount of work has already been carried out by the High Street Heritage Action Zone project group and the surveys have been shared with Oswestry Town Council.

“In addition there is a need to know whether a cinema for families and teenagers that shows popular films on early release is viable in Oswestry and the council will need to speak with industry experts and cinema operators to carefully examine a wide range of information and options before making any decision on the building or the cinema.

“The council recognise the risks associated with a large project such as this and will progress with a degree of caution.

“The business case for a potential cinema will need to be made and this work will need to be commissioned. This will include some of the points that Mr Harris makes.”