In Penrith they had a smaller cinema along the lines of the Gaiety. they got a grant for disabled access and installed a lift. they also made a small 2nd level access cinema with modern seats.
In the past 10 years cinema has had a revival. WREN grants are available for community facilities within 5 miles of a tip.
Parents would send kids to whitehaven toen centre to see pictures on their own, Would they send them to workington, to get another bus to cinema??
The access up so many stairs put people off, there are more flats in town now. A lift and another screen using the space up there, would that be viable??

This has been tried before. The cinema is actually in a good condition although the seating would need replaced and some other cash spent, but Graves (Cumberland) are just not interested.

what about rosehill. they show films not too long after the plaza and its very rarely full. some films are lucky to have more than 5 customers. people need to look further than under their noses.

I remember the Gaiety so well. When I was in the 6th form at Whitehaven Grammar School, a dozen of us would go there most Saturday nights. It brings back happy memories but really, when I escaped from Whitehaven in 1963 the Gaiety was already well past its shelflife.

It would need one heck of an upgrade to bring it to 2012 standards.

There needs to be the demand for it....and as pointed out already the good people of Whitehaven voted with their feet, choosing a modern multiplex over a crumbling building with very little to offer in terms of facilities or customer service. Are the people who are joining this group going to contribute to the reopening....my guess is no.

It wont happen, Whitehaven would need a multi-screen cinema like the one at Workington to be able to compete, and lets be honest there is no chance of that ever happening

The campaign has also attracted support from major entertainment organisations, including, the Orange Film Club, BAFTA and entertainment organisation IMDb.

i'm not sure thats correct??!!

I was a worker at the Gaiety when it closed. It is funny now how many people are so keen to see the Gaiety re-open when they didn't bother to use it when it was there. From the opening of the Plaza to the closing of the Gaiety we consistently lost customers. I do not believe that the Gaiety would be a success if it re-opened now. Also, the Gaiety is still owned by Graves Cumberland and they have a large number of caveats on the re-opening including not showing films that are at the Plaza and not showing new releases.