23/08/2007

The UK Film Council has announced that local cinemas across the UK can apply for Lottery funding to upgrade buildings, enhance facilities and improve access for audiences with sensory disabilities. The £500,000 Capital and Access Fund for Cinemas has been set up as part of the Council’s ongoing efforts to ensure high standards of cinema facilities in the country.

Under the Council’s standard match-funding scheme Independent Cinemas (i.e., chains of less than nine cinemas) are eligible to apply for funding up to 50% of the cost with a maximum award of £50,000. Cinemas that are expected to benefit from this scheme include those whose very existence is at stake or those who currently have limited or no access for disabled audiences.

Indeed, improving access for audiences with sensory impairments is one of the core objectives of the Fund. Nearly a sixth of the UK’s population suffers from some form of disability with around 9 million afflicted by hearing loss and nearly 2 million with visual impairments. Therefore a high proportion of awards under the scheme are likely to go towards cinema access equipment.

The Fund follows on the heels of previous schemes such as the Small Capital Fund, where more than £700,000 was awarded to independent cinemas for capital projects, and the Cinema Access Programme, for which £350,000 was allocated for subtitling and audio description equipment.

Peter Buckingham, head of Distribution and Exhibition at the Council said, “We hope this funding will help small, local cinemas to remain at the heart of their communities, offering all audiences access to fresh and exciting films in a comfortable environment. Facilities for cinema-goers with hearing and sensory impairments have improved over recent years but are still too patchy, that’s why we are hoping to fund a number of cinemas to improve their access”.

Independent cinemas have until November 30, 2007 to apply for funding.