Ashford's leisure offering will take a huge hit today when both of the town's cinemas close temporarily.

But while the 12-screen Cineworld on Eureka Leisure Park and gold-coloured Picturehouse at Elwick Place are sitting empty, photos from our archive can at least remind us of the good times.

Here, we look at December 2002 when social distancing was never even imagined and Austin Metros still featured in the car park.

While Elwick Road's six-screen Picturehouse – which is owned by the Cineworld group – only opened in December 2018, the town's larger cinema was built in the late 1990s, welcoming its first film fans in July 1999.

In 2007, plans for three more screens and two extra restaurants at the complex were approved, but the scheme never got off the ground.

That was until earlier this year when work started on a revised project featuring an IMAX screen.

The long-awaited extension will also feature a lesser-known 4DX screen, although the project's timeline is currently unclear.

When complete, movie fans will sit in high-tech motion seats which will move in synchronisation with the film, adding wind, rain, scent and other effects in line with the action on screen.

The development also includes two new restaurants either side of Pizza Hut - one in the cinema extension and another separate unit.

Ashford Borough Council approved the updated scheme in 2016, which also features a reworked entrance to the existing Cineworld, as well as tweaks to the car park and a refurbishment of the 12 existing screens at the site.

But now, with 5,500 jobs at risk as a result of the closures, both of the town's cinemas are facing an uncertain future.

Ashford MP Damian Green described this week's move, which follows another delay to the release of the latest James Bond film, as a "real blow".

He said: "We were delighted when they added Picturehouse to the existing one at Eureka Park but it’s obviously an international problem and not just a national one as they are also closing their American sites.

“It’s a sign of how important it is to get past the current stage of Covid as soon as possible.

“If they are closed for only six months that’s one thing, but if they close permanently that will be a huge blow for the town.

“Their intention is obviously to reopen as it’s their business, but they know no better than anyone else how quickly we’ll get back to near-normal.

“They also don’t know when studios will release their big blockbusters.

“I don’t understand why they are waiting and waiting to release the new Bond film, because the longer they postpone the fewer cinemas there will be to even show it.”

Ashford Borough Council - which owns the Elwick Place complex - echoed these views, with a spokesman saying: “This is very disappointing news although we recognise that this is a national commercial decision made by the company.

“We will be in discussions with them on how best we can support their business and those staff affected by the announcement.

“We welcome their statement that the move is intended as a temporary closure and the council hopes to see them reopening again as soon as possible.”

Tom Evans, chairman of the Tenterden Cinema Focus Group, which is behind plans for a cinema in Tenterden high street, said the move is “not a huge surprise”.

“I believe the industry won’t be going again until next spring,” he said.

“I can quite understand why Cineworld has done it - it has a mountain of debt and it’s a very expensive international business to run.

“What’s absolutely clear is there’s still an obvious demand - a pent-up demand - for entertainment, socialising and cinema.

“We know people are still going and figures for the release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet weren’t far off what you’d normally expect.

“However it’s very difficult at the moment to get precise figures, and of course capacity is down due to social distancing.”

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