Woolton Cinema recently announced that they will be hosting more screenings
05:00, 21 Jan 2026Updated 08:06, 21 Jan 2026
Kevin Fearon has made a fresh appeal in his bid to raise funds for the cinema(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
The prospective new owners of Woolton Picture House have said they “still need funds” as they gear up for another fundraising boost in their bid to save the cinema. Previously the ECHO has reported the husband and wife team, Kevin Fearon and Gillian Miller, have agreed to buy the building from its previous owners for £450,000 and have set up a Community Interest Company [CIC] to try and raise funds.
Additionally, they have been looking to add a further £250,000 to refurbish the cinema on Mason Street. Last month, the couple reopened the cinema for the first time in five years as they hosted a ’12 Days of Christmas’ event in a bid to raise funds.
In a major step towards raising the total needed to save the cinema, Kevin told the ECHO last month they had raised £73,000 [minus the costs of putting the films on] thanks to the Christmas campaign.
Meanwhile, in a further attempt to put more money towards saving the cinema, Woolton Cinema will have another temporary reopening next month as they are set to hold five days of screenings for their ‘Reel Love’ campaign.
The cinema recently reopened after closing in 2020(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
However, despite taking a significant step towards securing the future of the venue, Kevin has said there is still a long way to go in their fundraising efforts.
He told the ECHO: “It’s not one more push, I think it’s going to be continuous pushing because we’re halfway to our targets of buying the building, we’ll then still need funds to rewire, put an alarm in and reupholster some of the seats. There’s always going to be money needed to get us to be a building that’s fit for the future.”
He added: “We’re not resting in our fundraising, and neither should people who are thinking of donating, they should donate, to get us the first milestone [of buying the building]. If we get a bit more than that, then we’re onto the next milestone.”
The cinema first opened in 1927(Image: Liverpool Echo)
As they prepare to reopen the cinema again next month, Kevin said they have been keen to capitalise on the success of their Christmas screenings. He said: “We know there’s the demand, so, we’re doing this series of five films because partly we wanted to keep the awareness there and let people know about the campaign even more.”
He added: “It’s to raise awareness, keep the community spirit there, keep the supporters close to us and working with us and it also allows us to send out another message to potential funders that we’re getting there, because we’re well over halfway to our purchase target, and money keeps coming in, we got a £10,000 donation yesterday.
“Good news keeps coming, and doing the five days of romance around Valentine’s, or ‘Reel Love’ as we’re calling it, it just keeps the campaign bubbling along, so people don’t forget about it.”
Valentines films are set to air over five days(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
With the cinema set to show five days of romantic films next month, Kevin gave a message directly to those hoping to see the cinema saved.
He said: “My message would be to hurry up and buy tickets, as of yesterday, three of the films have sold out. We’re not doing as many as we did at Christmas, so there’s less tickets available, but it’s still the Woolton Picture House experience.”
Kevin added: “It was fantastic before Christmas, so we’re going to replicate that again. Hopefully it’s not as cold as it was, but who knows, it’s February. Hurry up and buy tickets, come and enjoy a film, but also help support the campaign.”
As the cinema gears up to host another round of films, Kevin said there are no immediate plans to host anymore temporary screenings. However there are unconfirmed plans to host events that will take place elsewhere, which will likely take place later in the year.
Valentine’s Screenings Programme:
Friday, February 13
7pm – Shaun of the Dead
Saturday, February 14
2pm – Casablanca
7pm – Pretty Woman
Sunday, February 15
2pm – Some Like It Hot
7pm – The Notebook
Monday, February 16
2pm – Beauty and the Beast (animated)
7pm – Bridesmaids
Tuesday, February 17
2pm – Enchanted
7pm – Moonlight
To donate or learn more about the campaign, you can visit www.wooltoncinema.com.