FOLLOWING months of careful planning and a substantial investment, the doors of Yelverton's new cinema opened to the public last Saturday, with a screening of the award-winning spectacular, Atonement.

Yelverton Cinema is the brainchild of the local charity Yelverton Community Projects, which established the volunteer care and support group Yelvercare, and the very popular Yelverton Village Park.

The cinema project has come to fruition thanks to a generous legacy.

Chairman of the charity Brian Medhurst said: 'We had this legacy because of the work we do with Yelvercare. We scratched our heads and thought about what we could do now for the village, and came up with the cinema.

'There are lots of film clubs around the county, but none near here.

'We have assembled a super team of enthusiastic volunteers, who have applied their range of skills with their enthusiasm for the project to get us up and running on time.'

Yelverton Cinema, located in St Paul's Church Hall, has been equipped with the latest technology, including blu-ray projection and surround sound, and with a selection of home-made refreshments and comfortable seats aims to provide a special evening out for residents in the Yelverton area. The project has cost about £15,000 to get up and running.

Brian said: 'We've got new curtains and blinds, new lighting — we've done everything we can to make it feel like a cinema.'

The aim is to have a film showing once a month initially — but this may be extended to cater for particular groups of people in the community — for example, a Saturday morning children's film club, or afternoon matinée films for senior citizens.

'Brian said: 'The nice thing with the cinema is that it's trans-generational — Yelvercare is mainly for older people, and the park is for younger people, but this is something that should appeal to all ages. We thought it would pull everyone together in the village.'

Brian said everyone was delighted with the quality of the equipment, which he described as 'state of the art'.

Yelverton Community Projects has also used local tradesmen where possible in setting up the project, from the curtains by Dartmoor Drapes in Horrabridge, to the Langage ice-cream stocked in the freezer to enjoy during a film.

Anyone who would like to know more about the cinema, future films and to view trailers should go to http://www.yelvertoncinema.co.uk">www.yelvertoncinema.co.uk

Volunteers to help run the cinema are also welcome to make contact.

Brian said: 'We'd love people to get involved, there are so many jobs to do, taking money on the door, helping with the project equipment — all sorts of things.'

Anyone interested should call Angela Read on 01822 610917.