Cinema is increasingly for the under 25s, with more and more films targeted at the teen market. In Newbury, one in four cinema goers uses the six-screen Vue multiplex in Reading’s Oracle centre, with another 13% choosing the Ster Century outlet in Basingstoke.

The Kennet Centre scheme hopes to bring them back, for the price of the subsidy, while an out-of-town alternative has been dismissed on a technicality.

The argument’s in a nutshell are:

For:

Newbury’s lacking a real night-time buzz. OK, there’s pubs and bars, but on a weeknight, the streets are largely deserted by 8pm. Most of all, it gives the teenagers of Newbury something to do, perhaps freeing up their parents to go for a meal. All the available sites have been examined, and the Kennet Centre is perfect – close to trains and buses, and next to a multi-storey car park. It will generate less traffic.

Besides too much has already gravitated to the edge of town – shops and offices, the college, and sports facilities – so without the cinema, Newbury’s nightlife will remain at best dull, and at worst a boozers’ paradise.

Against:

We should stop competing with Reading. Newbury’s small-town feel is being destroyed by the Kennet Centre’s ‘big city’ architecture, and as there is no decent public transport system, the scheme will end up only benefiting Newbury residents. It is also dangerous to start subsidising from the outset, the operator is likely to come back for more. Alternative sites have been suggested. Next to the nightclub and bowling alley in Thatcham, with free buses laid on and no subsidy should be considered further before granting this. Or on Pinchington Lane, where the road already needs dualling to cope with the motorised shopper. People want their entertainment all together, and only an out-of-town site will survive the test of time.