Additional funding given green light after successful Acton Arts Project campaign
Acton old library to become Acton's new cinema
A hard fought Acton Community led campaign has beaten off hundreds of other worthy causes and won the approval of the London Mayor, who is awarding 30k to the scheme.
The money is from the Make London fund which supports a range of recovery projects aimed at improving public spaces, supporting community hubs and town centres, and promoting grass-roots culture.
When The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan launched it at the end of last year he said: “Coronavirus has had an impact on every Londoner and every area of our city, often with lower-income and ethnically diverse communities the hardest hit.
“We’ve already seen an incredible response to this challenging time from Londoners of all backgrounds. I firmly believe it is our communities who have the most innovative ideas on how to emerge from the pandemic and bring our city together.
“Creativity flows through London and it will get us through this crisis. That’s why I’m proud to launch this new fund which will allow Londoners to play a vital role in helping their local areas recover and tackle the inequalities which exist in the capital.”
The Acton Arts project team has been working for the last few years on the scheme to redevelop the Old Library and turn it into a cinema downstairs with a school for autistic children upstairs.
Over 100k was initially raised from Crowdfunding and Ealing Council granted planning permission. The campaign has received huge support from the community and been backed by Film Critic, Mark Kermode, who described it as ''seriously good news for film fans in West London.
Due to the restrictions caused by Covid, the planned opening of the 2 screen cinema was delayed and has had to be adapted to a pop-up single screen viewing area with a bar/café supporting independent traders.
The new project will be Covid secure with distanced seating allowing more seats to be added, as the situation changes and evolves.
An additional Spacehive campaign has been running seeking funding support of 60k for equipment and to prepare the building for socially distanced screenings.
The project team also made a pitch to the Mayor of London for a share of the High Street Regeneration fund and were overjoyed to hear their bid has been successful, making the opening a step closer.
Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said,“Culture is London’s DNA and new creative ideas will be vital in supporting our capital’s recovery from the pandemic. We’re committed to supporting innovators and community organisers to help rebuild our city, and through Make London I’m proud that we are funding important projects, like The Acton Pop Up, to boost their local area.”
Acton Arts Chair, Maire Lowe, said, ''We are thrilled with the Mayor's generous pledge of 30k to the pop up cinema. We are still hoping to open our doors in May when we are allowed and this money will go some way to buying the equipment we need. Thank you Mr Mayor.''
The project has now reached 80% of its target and next month a special concert will be taking place to help reach the £57,000 needed. Local resident and acclaimed Tenor, Neil Latchman will be joined by other celebrated international artists and putting on a special online fundraiser on Friday 2 April. Tickets on sale here
It's hoped that once it's up and running, the winning films from the inaugural Ealing Film Festival will be screened at the new Acton Cinema, date to be confirmed.
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16th March 2021
Annemarie Flanagan
