A CAMPAIGN group has been set up in Ringwood to rescue the historic Regal Cinema building.

The Ringwood Regal action group said that it aimed to bring live entertainment back to the centre of the town by reinvigorating the cinema in Market Place.

The group said that it knew that there was considerable interest in rescuing the cinema.

Encouraged by the “huge number” of people that signed the ‘Save the Regal’ petition and continue to show interest, town residents John Challenor and Mike Tuck are running with the campaign and using that interest as a springboard for setting up a formal movement.

Mr Challenor said: “Behind the scenes a considerable amount of work has already been carried out. There have been several meetings with useful people, a lot of research has already been undertaken and the inaugural meeting of the new action group has taken place.

“Our aim is to bring back live entertainment to the centre of Ringwood with a theatre and cinema. We also hope we can incorporate conference and meeting facilities into the building, but we are keeping an open mind on the many uses already suggested to us.

“Having said all that, we are making sure we have all our facts straight before making any more detailed statements to the press or anyone else.”

Mr Tuck, co-founder of The Ringwood Regal action group, added: “If all goes to plan we will be launching our new website in the near future.”

The cinema building was built in 1734 as the Market House and was used by farmers on market day.

By the Victorian era, it was considered outdated and was knocked down and rebuilt.

It was first converted to a cinema in 1914 and remained one until 1959, when it transferred to live shows and film performances.

By 1964 it was operating only one night a week as a cinema and it finally closed in 1972, when it was turned into what was a short-lived shopping arcade.

In 1975 the ground floor became a restaurant and the top floor became a nightclub and in the decades that followed it was the venue for a succession of nightclubs.

Planning applications have come and gone, but the building has been disused since the early 2000s.