The opening of Romney Marsh's only cinema is still on hold due to the coronavirus , with no plans to open any time soon.

Cinemarsh, based at the Marsh Academy’s leisure centre, was due to open in April this year - just one month after the country went into lockdown.

And when cinemas were given the go-ahead to open a few months later in July, bosses at the small screen considered their options and decided it was simply not viable to open.

Due to the theatre only having 46 seats, and having discussed the implication of social distancing with other similar sized premises, it would mean that the theatre could only accommodate 25% of its capacity.

This would mean only 11 or 12 guests at any one time.

Leisure centre manager Jason Mahoney said: "It wasn't viable.

"We didn't want to open on that basis.

"It's is important when we do open that we get it right.

"So it's all on hold. The cinema and foyer are all finished and when we get back to normal we are committed to carrying on where we left off.

"It will be nice for people to have something to look forward too."

Last week cinema giant Cineworld announced they were going to close all its screens .

It comes as fewer people are visiting cinema, and film companies are delaying the release of their pictures - blockboster James Bond for example will not be released until next year.

Cinemarsh has been in the making for five years and was possible with grants from Magnox, The Garfield Weston Foundation Weston Anniversary Fund, LEADER, The Foyle Foundation and the combined funding of The Overstone Fund and Kent Reliance Provident Society Fund through the Kent Community Foundation.

It has 46 seats in total and its sound and projection systems were installed by Sound Associates , one of the top digital cinema installers in the UK. The screen is five metres wide.

A post from the cinama's Facebook page added: "We were all tremendously disappointed to have to delay the opening of Cinemarsh, in April, due to the coronavirus crisis.

"Since then we’ve been keeping a watch on how the film industry has responded and have been monitoring advice and guidance from the Government.

"While cinemas have been allowed to open, the necessary restrictions, particularly on capacity, would make it very difficult for us to operate our forty-six seat auditorium successfully in the current climate.

"We are committed to making Cinemarsh a success and we want to ensure that your new cinema can eventually be enjoyed by the whole community for many years into the future.

"In the meantime, we’ll continue to monitor developments and look forward to welcoming you when it is safe and practical for us to do so."

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