ReOpen The Regal
  
Friends Of the Regal

The former Regal Cinema is situated in Birmingham Gardens, Newcastle NSW. The owners are Newcastle City Council. It closed on October 31st 2006.

The Friends of the Regal Trust is dedicated to the refurbishment and maintance of the former cinema and promoting associated activities.

The Friends of the Regal support group meet on the third Wednesday of the month at the Jesmond Neighbourhood Centre. Enquiries to David at 02 4951 1611.

The Friends of the Regal Trust was established by the late Greg Heys in 2007. The trustees are the Jesmond Neighbourhood Centre Incorporated. The purpose includes

  1. The refurbishment and maintenance of the Regal Cinema

  2. The promotion and making accessible the Regal cinema to
    3.   a. older people
      b. isolated people
      c. students
      d. those who are culturally and linguistically diverse and
      e. the local community generally.

  3. The Promotion and advancement of local filmmaking

  4. The promotion of and training in the cinematic arts

  5. The promotion and advancement of the arts, culture and literature, design, media productions and training, aboriginal arts, community development and heritage preservation.
The Friends of the Regal are a group of individuals co-ordinated by the Friends of the Regal committee. The role of the group is to support the activities of the Trust.

Our aim is to reopen the former Regal cinema at Birmingham Gardens as a community run, not-for-profit Cultural Cinema Centre. The centre will continue the tradition established by the former operator, Bruce Avard, of showing films with strong cultural and artistic relevance and maintaining an affordable and welcoming social venue. We also plan to expand into modern audiovisual entertainment and social networking applications and training facilities for the digital and visual arts.

Bruce Avard's Regal was famous for the diversity as well as the quality of its offerings and was made freely available for organisational fund raising purposes.

The patrons had a sense of personal involvement and it provided an essential element of social cohesion for the area that is now lacking.

Newcastle City Council owns the site and building.

Progress

1,500 financial supporters

Alliance formed with notable members of the Australian film and screen industry, headed by Jo Smith (Executive Director of the Australian Guild of Screen Composers).

Grant of $141,700 towards the refurbishment of the building secured under the NSW Government Community Building Partnership scheme secured.

Membership of the Newcastle City Council Regal Cinema Sunset Working Party convened to establish a plan of management for a renovated venue.

Partnership formed with Lake Macquarie City Council and Screen Hunter Central Coast to run a short film season in September 2011 at the Warners Bay Performing Arts Centre.


Newcastle City Council resolve to request 'Friends of the Regal' to establish a trust to maintain and operate the Regal Cinema as a working heritage cinema.
 
© 2012 Jesmond Neighbourhood Centre