NEW hope has been given to a campaign to bring the silver screen back to Wantage.

Moviegoers are celebrating a £167,000 proposal to refurbish the disused Regent Cinema, in Newbury Street.

The money, which is being sought from the South East England Development Agency (Seeda), would go towards replacing the building’s sloping floor, refitting its seats and repairing the roof.

It is hoped the revamp will attract a buyer for the site, which closed in 2005 after the owners said it was not profitable.

Tim Weekes, chairman of the Friends of Wantage Cinema, said: “The support and passion there is for a cinema in the town is enormous and we’re eagerly anticipating the next step. We’re due to have a meeting with the town council for some more discussions and we’ll see where things stand after then.”

The Wantage Joint Economic Forum made the application as part of a wider £715,000 proposal for Wantage and Grove.

The forum is asking for £237,000 from Seeda’s Small Rural Towns Programme, with the remainder coming from sources such as the National Lottery, Wantage Town Council and developers.

County councillor for Grove and Wantage Jenny Hannaby said: “The cinema has been the subject of a long-running campaign to be saved and it’s clearly something local people feel strongly about.

“There’s nowhere else locally the cinema could go, so we’re hopeful it will be given the green light.”

A decision on the plan will be made on December 10.

The bid comprises eight key projects, including a £100,000 overhaul of the Market Place, £114,000 for Tugwell Field and a new £70,000 youth club to replace the Sweatbox at King Alfred’s School.

wantage@oxfordmail.co.uk