REASSURANCES have been made that a ‘much-loved’ cinema in the Lake District remains safe from development.

Concern has been raised at the Royalty Cinema, Bowness, and its grounds being included in the Lake District National Park Authority’s Local Plan.

The plan, which identifies sites where redevelopment can take place over the next 25 years, has identified 29 potential sites with a variety of uses within South Lakeland.

Anxious residents attended yesterday’s meeting of South Lakeland District Council’s cabinet to voice concerns about the cinema’s future as councillors discussed a formal response to the plan at its current stage.

A petition with 400 signatures calling for the cinema to be saved was also submitted to the meeting, although it was rejected for being ‘invalid’ as no addresses were given.

Jane Hoyle, who presented the petition, told the cabinet: “People here love this cinema and it is an asset to the town. It should not be demolished.”

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Cabinet members Jonathan Brook, Andrew Jarvis and leader Giles Archibald remained insistent that their proposed response to the LDNPA protected the cinema. Cllr Archibald said the representations made, questioning SLDC’s commitment to the cinema, left him ‘bemused’

The response said the inclusion of the site in the plan should include ‘a requirement for the retention of the cinema’.

“I don’t think we can be more clear,” said Cllr Jarvis. “We want to protect the building.”

Cllr Brook added cabinet would be prepared to look into making further designations on the building to afford additional protection.

But Cllr Ben Berry, leader of the Conservatives on SLDC, said after the meeting the cinema’s future remained in doubt.

“The council has scrabbled together a last-minute promise to give it a special designation in the future but there is no guarantee that this will be accepted by national park planners, or that it won’t be weakened in the years to come,” he said. “The fight to save the cinema isn’t over. We need to keep pressing the council to withdraw the site from the local plan before it is approved.”

SLDC’s cabinet voted to accept the response to the LDNPA’s local plan.

“This is obviously an important document for the national park. It sets the scene for development in the national park for a considerable amount of time,” said Cllr Brook. “I welcome the overall ambitious nature of the proposals. We are pleased with the direction of travel the national park is taking.”