PROPOSALS to turn Abingdon's empty Abbey Hall into a cinema face one final hurdle.

Husband and wife Ian and Sue Wiper, who own independent cinema The Regal in Evesham, Worcestershire, wrote to Abingdon Town Council, which owns the building, in January asking it to consider letting them use the Guildhall’s 1960s extension for screenings.

Mrs Wiper wrote: “Our plan for the Guildhall is to invest in state of the art projection and audio-visual equipment and a big retractable screen which we would remove at the end of our tenancy. We would also invest and install, at our expense, luxury seating."

A formal offer was made earlier this month to lease the building until the summer of 2020, and subject to negotiations over repair costs this has been recommended for approval by the authority's finance and general purposes committee.

Before the renovations can go ahead, however, the deal must be signed off by the full town council, which will meet on Wednesday to consider the plan.

If approved, the cinema couple expect to open in time for Mamma Mia two's release in July.