THE MANAGER of Kennet Shopping has said that Newbury will get its long-awaited cinema and accused West Berkshire’s political parties of misinforming the public about the plans.
Mag Williams told the Newbury Weekly News that a contractor had already been chosen and that a crucial bit of initial work had now begun to prepare the site for the cinema, which will be built by Kennet Shopping owners Alanis.
“It was always going to happen. We wouldn’t be doing the work now if the cinema wasn’t going to go ahead,” she said.
Thames Water has already started to map out the sewage pipes beneath the plot of land where the cinema will be built.
Work will then begin in January to move the sewage pipes, clearing the way for work on the cinema to begin.
“Most people don’t think the town is getting a cinema but this is just being fuelled by the political parties who just carry on sending the wrong message and arguing about trivial matters”, Mrs Williams said.
In the last week, the leader of the Liberal Democrats accused the council’s Conservatives of conducting secret meetings on the future of the cinema.
Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) said the Conservatives had stone walled his party by banning its councillors from attending meetings with the cinema’s developer Alanis, despite promising to let them into the meetings.
“The meetings are so secret. Do you ever see any comments on them, any minutes; do you understand what the delay is? The reality is that the cinema project is not making progress.” Mr Brooks said.
The leader of the Conservative-run council, Graham Jones, denied the project was going nowhere and said the Liberal Democrats were using the issue as a party political football.
“I do not want to be put in a position where I am constantly watching my back at these meetings,” he said.
Mrs Williams said there was still a lot of ground work and preparation that needed to be done but she said the cinema looked on track to be completed midway through 2009.