Campaigners trying to save 84-year-old Ulverston cinema

Campaigners are trying to save an 84-year-old cinema from closure.

The Roxy cinema, in Ulverston, opened in June 1937 but it faces an uncertain future as the building is up for sale for £200,000.

Fundraisers are hoping to find £20,000 before applying for a grant to cover the bulk of the cost and have so far reached £12,000.

The cinema has maintained traditions such as an interval when people can buy refreshments.

The Roxy Collective wants to buy the building to secure cinema screenings for the future.

Chairperson Suzanne Garnett said: "We want to buy the building to protect it, to preserve it, restore it and revitalise it."

The building has been on the market for some time.

Fundraisers aim to raise the £20,000 before making a bid to the Community Ownership Fund, which offers grants of up to £250,000. Ulverston Town Council has pledged £50,000.

The building is also home to the Laurel and Hardy Museum - as Stan Laurel was born in the town in 1890 - and a gym.

Ms Garnett said: "There is a place for streaming and cinema.

"Cinema is about so much more than the film you're going to watch, it's an experience you can't replicate at home.

"The Roxy is one of the few places in the country where you can take your children to see their first film in the place where you saw your first film and potentially where your parents watched films."

The collective's plans for the building involve renovations which include installing a lift, changing the foyer and providing a home for Ulverston's tourist information centre.

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