Last night, West Berkshire Council’s Executive approved plans to support the eight-screen multiplex for five years, by allowing the Kennet Centre to keep up to £100,000 a year of car park receipts.

The ruling Lib Dems have been under fire from both Conservatives and Labour over the use of the public purse to support a commercial venture, with claims that the council was prepared to be “held to ransom” because of an election pledge to build the cinema in Newbury town centre.

Privately, party activists have told newbury.net they are nervous about “council gaffes” in the run-up to a General Election, citing the handling of controversial school mergers as an “own goal”.

The cash will be passed to the Belfast-based company which runs the Kennet Centre, who will have to prove that the cinema has made a loss before any money changes hands.

The council expects to offset the costs against predicted growth in traffic from people coming to Newbury for a night out, and transport experts expect up to 13% more traffic from cinemagoers coming into town.

In return, the Kennet Centre has been given planning consent for the cinema and five food and drink outlets. Takeaways are banned, and Kennet Shopping is in talks with various national chains.

Work is expected to start on the £8 million project later this year, and Newbury will once again have a cinema by next October – two years longer than planned.