'An important first step': Shropshire cinema chief hails major update on historic building in market town
Work can now begin on modernising a historic cinema whose building dates back to centuries but needs work to bring it up to date
"An important first step of a very long journey" - that's how a Shropshire cinema chief described the award of vital grant funding to breathe new life into a historic venue.
The team behind Maona Cinema in Oswestry town centre has been awarded £15,000 to begin a project which is expected to modernise the near 200-year-old building.
The money is a so-called 'Project Viability Grant' which comes from The Heritage Revival Fund and is a national programme created to help communities across England rescue and repurpose historic buildings.
It has a particular focus on revitalising spaces in town centres and supports organisations such as Maona in bringing meaningful local heritage assets back to life.
Maona Cinema's director Tatenda Jamera said: "This grant is an excellent step for us at Maona Cinema to explore how we might be able to shape our current grade II listed cinema venue.
"This is an important first step of a very long journey into being a more accessible and welcoming space for our community."
Securing the grant means the team in Oswestry can now start working alongside architects to explore the future of the cinema in Arthur Street.
Over the coming months, they plan to assess its current condition, create a viable plan for the next phase of work and look at how the local community can be best served by the venue.
The team will also examine how accessibility can be improved and create a long-term strategy.
The cinema building dates back to the 1830s and was once a former chapel.
Maona, pronounced 'Ma-oh-na', derives its name from the Shona language of Zimbabwe where it means "You have seen" and the cinema shows both mainstream and lesser-known films.
Previously known as Kinokulture, the venue closed in 2024 when its previous owners retired after running the cinema for 14 years.
It relaunched last autumn with the new name after Birmingham-based charity Maona Arts carried out a crowdfunding to pay for the restoration of the building.
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