The Daylesford Cinema Theatre (DCT) group is shocked and angry that Hepburn Council has decided not to proceed with building a community Hub at the Rex. The Cinema group had expected that they would get use of a new auditorium in the Rex to run their highly successful local movie nights.
DCT has not had a home since Council bought the Rex in 2016. It has tried several alternative venues, including the Town Hall, but they have not proved successful.
President of DCT, Gina Lyons, has written to Council complaining about the lack of consultation and calling on the Council to revisit the decision.
In deciding to abandon the Rex project, Council made it clear that it would work with the Cinema Group to try to find a temporary and more permanent solution for community cinema in Daylesford.
However, Ms Lyons, has said that there is not other building in Daylesford which lends itself to being used as a cinema. “We’ve been down this path before in 2016/17, when we looked at a number of potential temporary and permanent sites. We have experience of screening in the Town Hall and Vic Park, which are also unsuitable,” said Ms Lyons.
“Moving a cinema is not like moving a gift shop. It has particular requirements in terms of height, space, soundproofing et cetera. That is why, after a huge community campaign to save the cinema in 2017, the Council agreed to include it in the Rex redevelopment, because they knew there was no other suitable building in Daylesford.
“The DCT Committee is not going to rush into any major decisions such as winding the organisation up. We’re going to let the dust settle before making any big decisions,” she said.