New Woolton Picture House team is asking people to share ideas and help decide its future

The new team aiming to reopen Woolton Picture House is inviting the local community to share ideas for the historic cinema’s future.

Couple Kevin Fearon and Gill Miller, who are also behind the renaissance of the Royal Court, want to ensure that the much-loved venue reflects what people really want from it.

Having been closed since Covid, and with concerns it might have screened its last film, the Picture House was given fresh hope when Kevin and Gill agreed a sale with the previous owner to secure the site.

They set up a Community Interest Company (CIC), loaning a 10% deposit of the £450,000 purchase price to Woolton Cinema CIC, and intend to launch a fundraising campaign to cover the full cost of reopening and restoration once plans are clear.

The pair, who live in south Liverpool, are keen that local people are given a say in those plans, which is why they’ve arranged a series of community meetings in July and August.

Kevin explains:

“At the moment it’s just Gill and I as the two directors but we’re looking to broaden that board and have more people involved because it’s not about us, we’re the catalysts that got it started. 

“One of the reasons for these meetings is to find other people who, with us, can be the team that then reopens the cinema. 

“We also want to hear people’s opinions and ideas because there’s no point doing this unless the community wants it and will use it.

“These meetings are to say, ‘this is your building, what should the plans be?’ We’re not dictating it, we’re just the people saying, ‘what do you want to happen?’

“We know people have an emotional investment in it – it was a closed building with no sign of reopening. Now I think people have realised that they’ve lost something and if they don’t use it then they’ll lose it again so hopefully there’s going to be a rebirth of the Picture House because people realise how important it was and still is to them.”

Kevin says they are keeping a completely open mind over what could happen in the space.

“It’s not a chain and it’s not only a cinema, it’s a community resource that shows films – it has to have another life and it has to be used more than just on a Saturday night when we can have a couple of hundred people in.

“Film will always be at the heart of it, so there might be a film club we set up and show films voted for by the members. There are lots of ways we can make people feel connected and have an ownership in what we do.

“What we want is numbers, that’s what’s worked for us at the Royal Court. There’s a sense of community in the auditorium when people watch shows because they’re used to coming, they’re not on their own, it’s that shared experience.

“In today’s society where there’s a lot of lonely people, I think it can be a place where you feel safe going on your own, staying for a coffee and seeing other people.”

Woolton Cinema CIC will be run as a not-for-profit organisation, and Kevin hopes to have volunteers helping to run it.

“We’ve had a lot of people contact us to say they’d like to sell ice creams or be an usherette. You don’t have to watch a film, you could open up or sell ice creams and still be part of things.

“It’s going to bring together a lot of people who’ve never met each other and that’s already happening without even being open; just the process is going to start what I think will be the magic of the cinema: how it brings people together through film and other things as well.”

Getting the cinema reopen and refurbished will be done in stages and realistically, even if the funding targets are reached, it will be 2026 before doors reopen. The big goal is Boxing Day 2027, the 100^th anniversary. 

“We’ll be making funding applications and officially launching a fundraiser once we’ve had these community meetings and got everyone’s feedback,” adds Kevin. “We want to have a better picture of what we need to show people why we’re asking for the money.

“My one vision is to see it open and full, and if we get that I’ll be happy.”

The first meetings will be on Thursday July 10 at 6pm, Saturday August 16 at 4pm and Wednesday August 27 at 6pm.

Book a place at Woolton Picture House, limited to 100 per meeting, here.

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