'Ghost town' warning after only cinema shuts doors

A movie fan who set up a petition calling for her town's only cinema to stay open said people are now realising it has gone for good.

Karen Read, who lives in Weymouth, called on Cineworld to consider reopening its New Bond Street branch, which closed on 30 December after 25 years.

She said that having a cinema in the town offered something different from its arcades, pubs and clubs and helped boost the local economy.

Just over 1,000 people supported the call, but the closure means the town's nearest cinema is in Dorchester, about eight miles (12.8km) away.

"The impact is that there's not much to do in evenings or the days. You have got your arcades, pubs and clubs and a cinema is something different," Ms Read said.

"Now we are just going to have a big empty building that is going to attract people to get in there.

"Kids are realising they can't just go after school. More people are more aware that it's closed."

She said she has mobility issues and that the bus trip to Dorchester's cinema will take an hour.

In her petition, she said the cinema had been a "cornerstone of [Weymouth residents'] social lives" and that Weymouth was "gradually transforming into a ghost town".

A Weymouth Town Council spokesperson said: "We are sorry to see this facility go and will work closely with our partners to support future prospective businesses in the area."

Cineworld said late last year that it was closing other branches in Northampton, Castleford in West Yorkshire, Leigh in Greater Manchester and Middlesbrough.

Last month the cinema giant said in a statement: "We would like to thank all of our customers for choosing Cineworld Weymouth as their local cinema."

The Cineworld at Tower Retail Park in Poole is also due to close on 19 January.

Weymouth's bowling alley closed down in 2019 and Dorset Council said last month that it wants a company to demolish that vacant building, in St Nicholas Street.

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