Local MP welcomes support for Penistone Paramount cinema

MIRIAM Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, has welcomed a £95,844 Government cash injection into Penistone’s Paramount Cinema.

Miriam said: “The Paramount cinema is so important to the Penistone community but it has really struggled this year because of COVID-19.

“While the pandemic looks set to continue for some months yet, it’s so important that the cinema is still here when we get back to normal. I’m delighted that Penistone Paramount is benefitting from this national fund and I had the privilege of being shown around the recently upgraded auditorium by Cinema Manager Brian Barnsley.”

Built as the Assembly Hall for Penistone in 1914, the Penistone Paramount is a single screen 344 seat cinema operated by Penistone Town Council. The Auditorium as refurbished last summer 2020 and now benefits from new seating, carpets and decoration, the house lights have been upgraded and the front steps restored to their former glory.

Brian Barnsley said: “We are very pleased with this grant award, this funding secures the future of the Paramount in these very trying times. The funding is to cover the costs incurred of making the building Covid secure, and supporting the cinema when we are able to welcome customers again.”

Penistone Paramount was one of more than 200 independent cinemas across England being supported at Christmas with £16 million in grants from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

The Culture Recovery Fund is a package worth £1.57 billion to protect Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions through the coronavirus pandemic. Many of our much-loved institutions – from theatres, museums and pantomimes – have been able to apply for funding to help weather the impacts of coronavirus.

Miriam added: “Community assets like the Penistone Paramount are the cultural and social heart of our towns and villages. I know how much hard work has gone into keeping the Cinema going over recent years, and this grant will hopefully ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy all it has to offer.”