Garelochhead film enthusiast sets up community cinema

Richard Fairman founded StopGap CIC in June after the town's only cinema had to close temporarily while funding is secured for a community buyout.

As previously reported, the 'Save the Tower' steering group was set up earlier this year in a bid to secure a long-term future for the Tower Digital Arts Centre in Sinclair Street.

The group has announced that it has been successful in its stage one application to the Scottish Land Fund and are now working towards the next step in the process.

The Tower had to temporarily close while funding was secured for a community buyout in Helensburgh (Image: Newsquest) However, Richard felt that five months without a cinema in Helensburgh was long enough for the community and wanted to step in to help in his own way.

He told the Advertiser: "I was a regular customer of the Tower when it was open. I think I might have been the best customer because I had my own seat.

"With everything that is happening with the campaign, I thought it was likely they would be shut for a while and I feel it is important to keep cinema going in Helensburgh. Of course, an added bonus of this is that I get to see films for free!

"Cinema is in a bad way as a whole at the moment. Cinemas that are in dedicated buildings don't seem to survive because of the overheads. Our strategy is that we have none of that so we can try our best to make it affordable for the community.

"I got a license from the Scottish Government until 2029 and we managed to get sponsors who paid for the projector. The only downside is that we cannot offer first release films due to the strict rules surrounding it."

The 75-year-old from Garelochhead is a keen film enthusiast and doesn't want Helensburgh to lose out on a cinema (Image: Newsquest)

Richard, from Garelochhead, and the team of six volunteers are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that the community cinema will be up and running within the next few months.

The 75-year-old added: "I just want to make it clear that we are not part of Save the Tower but when they do reopen in a viable way we will shut down. I am not doing this for any profit, I just want Helensburgh to have a cinema in some way. We are filling in until the Tower reopens.

"The profits we do make will go towards widening the range of films we can offer, increasing the quality of the equipment and towards charity. This is a project for the community so it is important that it is goes back to them.

"It would be completely devastating to see our beautiful part of the country lose a cinema. For a lot of people it gets them out of the house. It is an opportunity to meet other people and I know there are lonely people in Helensburgh who love coming to the cinema.

"Once we are set up I would love to offer private screenings to charities in the local areas at a low cost as a 'thank you' for everything they do."

The project team are preparing to screen their first film Twisters 2024 in the next couple of months at Peckham's, who will be offering an afternoon tea or an evening meal at an extra cost.

The group are also on the lookout for new volunteers to help and anyone who is interested in joining is asked to contact Richard at acampb5160@gmail.com.