NINE out of ten people would like to see a new cinema in Okehampton, according to research carried out for Okehampton Town Council. However, the survey also found firm support for the town?s market, with 86% of people surveyed wishing to see it retained. The council is considering leasing the market hall to a cinema company to convert the building into a two or three screen modern cinema. At Monday night?s meeting members discussed the results of a survey conducted last month to gauge the views of people in the town. However, present users of the market hall, including stallholders, Okehampton and District Canine Society and Okehampton Auctions, remain opposed to any relocation to make way for a cinema. The questionnaire also asked respondents to suggest possible alternative venues for the market if the council did decide to go ahead with the cinema lease option. This revealed a large percentage supporting open air markets with Red Lion Yard and St James Street among the most popular options. Mayor Tony Leech said he believed it was ?very important? the council had carried out the research, but stressed it had ?never been our intention? to stop market trading in the town. Cllr Kay Bickley echoed the point: ?We are not trying to close the market. How many times have we sat around this table and said we are a market town? We want to support markets. I would like to see the market flourish, if that means open air, so be it.? Cllr Mark Slater said: ?From the results of the survey it is clear people still want a market and think we have a responsibility to help the traders.? But Cllr Slater rejected a claim made in a letter from the National Market Traders? Association that the council?s policy meant 15 small businesses faced closure. The questionnaire also found that around 38% of respondents said they did not visit the market, though those over 50 were found to be the most likely to visit with many regularly buying something there. Dr Michael Ireland, who supervised the research carried out by undergraduate students from the College of St Mark and St John, noted that among the sample the market was less popular with young people. The implication being for the future that the experience currently being offered by the market would not be attractive to new customers, he said. Increased activities for young people, a greater choice of entertainment and providing more leisure opportunities for residents were noted as the key benefits the introduction of a cinema would bring to Okehampton by those surveyed. Cllr Charles Letchford questioned whether a sample of 244 people, or around 5% of the population of Okehampton could be said to be representative. Dr Ireland said the sample fairly evenly divided into three broad age groups, 25 years and under, over 25 and under 50 and over 50, to reflect the population of those living and working in the town as a whole. Members of Okehampton and District Canine Society further questioned the validity of the results. They asked why the survey was carried out on two successive Thursdays last month and said they felt it would have been more representatives to have questioned people on different days. Mary Wilson, chairman of the group which meets on Monday nights in the hall, said it would be a ?great shame? if the group had to disband after more than 35 years in the town, but no other venue in Okehampton was large enough to accommodate all their members and animals on one night. ?We are not just a little Monday night concern, we have a lot of members and we put on three big shoes each year,? she said. Three separate petitions are being compiled by opponents of the move and will be presented to the council in coming weeks. Trader Pam Powlesland said the petition started by stallholders had already attracted more than 400 signatures: ?People are signing our petition because they want the market to stay where it is.? Mrs Powlesland also rejected the council?s view that young people did not use markets, and said from her previous experience running the operation, young people did come into the market. The issue will be discussed at the next meeting of the full council. Cllr Leech reiterated his intention to hold a meeting with all the users of the hall, but said a date for this would not be arranged until next week.