MAYOR of Okehampton Cllr Tony Leech says Merlin Cinemas are still very keen to come to Okehampton and the council was ?still in discussions? with the Cornish firm about bringing a cinema to the town. Cllr Leech said he wanted to dispel the misconception that Merlin Cinemas were getting a grant from the town council or other bodies to come to the town. ?There is no money from this council going into the project. It is their money not anybody else?s and it is they who are taking a risk,? he said. Cllr Leech said the firm was ?extremely keen? on the prospect of building a modern cinema complex in the market hall. An architect employed by the company had visited the hall last week to come up with working drawings. He said the council was due to meet the company in the coming weeks for further negotiations. Merlin Cinemas is currently working on a project to restore a cinema in Ilfracombe, which is running around a month behind schedule. However, when the Ilfracombe project is completed, they say they will be able to concentrate their resources on the project to bring a three-screen cinema to Okehampton. The company would favour having one large cinema auditorium showing the latest releases, plus two smaller screens which would show films with a more selective appeal. Merlin Cinemas currently operates five cinemas in the South West in Penzance, St Ives, Redruth, Torquay and Helston.
