Clevedon's Curzon cinema is 'delighted' to have received £10,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund.
This boosts the cinema's #BringBackTheBalcony appeal to £41,000 - taking it well over the half-way mark.
This project will put the cinema in a stronger position to survive and recover from the pandemic.
The historic Curzon cinema is celebrating after being awarded £10,000 in National Lottery funding for
its #BringBackTheBalcony appeal.
The Curzon was open for just four weeks in the past year, leaving its future uncertain.
However, since its reopening on Monday, social distancing and additional cleaning measures reduce audience capacity from 330 to just 90 people and the number of daily screenings from three or four to just two, leaving a very real risk to the charity as outgoings remain the same.
The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players to good causes, will help pay for the historic balcony to be reopened 49 years after it was closed to the public.
The project will help put the charity in a stronger position to survive and recover from devastating financial impact of the pandemic. Revamping this space, which has been hidden from view since 1972, will increase its socially distanced capacity by 30 per cent putting the charity in a stronger position to survive and recover.
Susannah Shaw, the cinema's chief executive, said: “This incredible grant has boosted our appeal to £41,000.
"Thanks to National Lottery players we have just moved a big step closer to reaching our £70,000 target and reopening the balcony.”
The work on the balcony will be completed within four to six weeks when the £70,000 is raised. New platforms will be built for 25 luxurious armchairs, sofas and tables. Improvements include speakers, lighting and safety rails.
The additional capacity will mitigate some of the losses that Covid-19 brings and help safeguard the future of the Curzon.
The additional space will also help those people who feel more concerned about returning, to feel more comfortable.
Donations can be made online at www.curzon.org.uk/fundraising or by cheque payable to Curzon Clevedon Community Centre for the Arts, sent to 46 Old Church Road, Clevedon BS21 6NN.
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