(Featured image © Rutland Kino)
The Rutland Kino project which aims to open a cinema in Oakham’s Victoria Hall has been set back.
Writing on their Instagram page, organiser Genevieve Margrett explained that the Trustees of the venue had not given them the time needed to raise the funds they needed.
At at meeting on January 11th, she explained, the trustees had not given the project “the commitment it needed to continue its plan to bring an independent cinema to Victoria Hall.”
Giving more detail on their blog, she wrote, “Rutland Kino had hoped to sign a 25 year lease on 31st December 2021. Sadly, just 10 days before - a major (250k) investor in our project had to pull out. This left us unable to meet the threshold which we had set ourselves to allow us to sign the lease.”
Andrew and Gen have raised significant funds at a difficult time to cover the extensive fees involved in such a project, paying for an architect, quantity surveyor and fees for a planning application, but had asked for a six-month extension in order to raise the remainder of what was needed.
They went on to thank everybody who had supported them in many ways I’m their two attempts to create a boutique independent cinema, despite “the small minority who have power in the town seem determined to hold Oakham back”.
The pair have ruled out a third attempt, citing the considerable personal expense already incurred.
