CAMPAIGNERS believe a cinema could return to Halstead by the end of the year.

For years, volunteers, including Danni Pickering and Craig Smith, have been trying to raise around £30,000 to reintroduce a cinema screen to the Empire Theatre.

They now believe they are tantalisingly close and are drawing up a business plan to get the project off the ground.

Mike George, spokesman for the theatre, said: “We have written up a business plan, we know how much we need to make and how much we will have to sell everything to make this work.

“We have an idea how many people we need on seats. We want to be cheaper than the big multiplexes asgoing to the cinema should be affordable.

“There is still an awful lot of work to do, but we have decided that this has to be run like a business.

"Even though we are all still volunteers, we want this to be run professionally rather than a hobby and we need to do that to make a success of it.”

The Butler Road theatre, which marked its centenary last year, stopped showing films in 2005 following the opening of Cineworld at Braintree Freeport.

Research is currently under way into equipment and film supply for two screenings a week.

Fundraising is ongoing, and next Saturday Halstead Public Gardens will headline The Music in the Park, with bands, a barbecue, hog roast, a bar, bouncy castle and slides.

Then on Sunday, July 17, a Family Fun Day at Courtauld Sports Ground will have stalls, rides, food, drinks and arena events.

A Band Wars event, with the top prize of a day in a recording studio, is also planned for September.

The theatre is also planning to launch a new choir group for youngsters in addition to its Saturday morning Dance, Theatre and Song development sessions and Monday dance groups.

Empire is developing a new online booking system Visit www.empire-theatre. co.uk