Bid to deliver Paignton Picture House restoration with £900,000 helping hand

Torbay Council is set to give the Trust behind the restoration  of the Paignton Picture House a £900,000 helping hand to get it across the line.

Torbay's cabinet is being asked to agree to the formation of a tripartite partnership between Torbay Council, Arts Council England and Paignton Picture House Trust.

If Cabinet approve the request at their meeting on Tuesday November 26, the partnership will work together to deliver the full restoration of the picture house as part of the regeneration of Paignton Town Centre.

The decision to jointly deliver the restoration of the picture house follows a request to the Council by the Trust.

A priority of all parties is to ensure that the picture house is restored in line with 2015 Paignton Town Centre Masterplan.

The agreement would see the Council taking more of an active role in the delivery of the restoration project which got underway around 10 years ago.

The council has always supported the restoration efforts, allocating £1.25million of Future High Streets Funding and securing £3million of Cultural Development Funding. A further £900,000 of Future High Streets Funding, is also being recommended to support the restoration project.

The Picture House is one of Europe’s earliest purpose-built cinemas. Built in 1914, the Grade II* listed building closed its doors in 1999. Since the formation of the Paignton Picture House Trust in 2013, the community has worked to save the iconic building and progressed with plans to create a vibrant and community cultural hub.

Cllr Chris Lewis, Deputy Leader of Torbay Council and Cabinet Member for Place Development and Economic Growth, said; “The Paignton Picture House Trust has made an incredible start to restoring the Paignton Picture House for the community. Their long-term vision for the building is so important for Paignton and our local history, we want to ensure what they set out to achieve can still be achieved and that is why we want to take more of an active role.”

Josephine Brown, Project Director, Paignton Picture House Trust, said; “The Paignton Picture House in an iconic building in the heart of the town centre. The building has so much to offer in improving the local environment and supporting regeneration in the local economy through art, culture and heritage. The Trust is supportive of the approach being taken by the Council as it is in the best interests of project and the funding that has been secured which we recognise is time sensitive.”