The chairman of The Parade Cinema in Marlborough has said he is delighted with the decision to allow a tent in the courtyard of the venue.

In April 2023, a clear tent was erected to provide shelter to customers, before the chairman, Mr Robert Hiscox, was instructed to take it down three months later.

Following an application process that saw 271 members of the public get in touch, Wiltshire Council granted planning permission for the canopy to be installed over the courtyard for 10 months of the year.

The chairman said: “The tent is essential to our financial well-being, it is a wonderful asset to have.

“We’re delighted to be able to have it for ten months a year.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: The tent is transparent and does not touch the building.The tent is transparent and does not touch the building. (Image: The Parade Cinema)

He added: “What we’d asked for was to have a tent up when we wanted it, we were told early on that we could only have it up for two months, so for them to reverse that was a welcome decision.”

Mr Hiscox requested permission to take the tent down and put it back up according to the venue’s event schedule, with it dismantled for a total of eight weeks in the year.

However, Wiltshire Council asked for it to be removed for two concurrent months each year for monitoring purposes.

The team at the cinema have decided these two months will be January and February.

Although Mr Hiscox would have preferred to be trusted with the flexibility to dismantle and reinstall the tent when convenient, overall, he described himself as happy with the outcome.

He said: “We have preserved a beautiful building, but we need the revenue, and the tent is a huge asset.

“Especially for disabled people who can drive their mobility scooters straight in off the pavement.”

He added: “The support from people has been enormous, because people have loved the tent.”

The approved application for the tent stated: “In the financial year to May 31st 2023, for most of which we had no tent, the business lost £95,000.

“The commercial case for the tent is overwhelming.

“With the tent, a thriving café can be developed to help bring the business to profit; without it, it will be very difficult.”

Town Councillor Caroline Thomas believes The Parade Cinema is a valuable asset for the area.

She said: “I think it has brought such an amazing facility to Marlborough, it has really enhanced what we’ve got to offer people and I’m really pleased it is proving successful.

“I totally understand why they wanted to have the tented area outside, I think they had done it very sympathetically in terms of it fitting within the environment and I believe it is important to them in terms of their income streams.”

She added: “I think there might have been a few mixed messages in terms of conversations with Wiltshire Council from what I've picked up, talking to different people.

"But nonetheless, as far as I’m concerned, we’ve got an outcome which I think is suiting everybody and I really hope people maximise the use of it.”

She also commended the fact that Marlborough is seeing an increasing number of well-organised community activities and events.

The Parade Cinema is a Grade II listed building, which was formerly a congregational chapel constructed in 1817.

The cinema and café were developed from 2020 to 2021 and restored the building, which had been empty and for sale for two years.

The venue is open seven days a week, has 104 seats and shows a variety of films, including latest releases, art-house and foreign language content.