The Racing Museum relocated from the Jockey Club-owned Subscription Rooms at 99 High Street to the restored Palace House & Stables in 2016. This now empty venue could be redeveloped into a fully equipped, 3-screen picture-house community cinema which would provide a homely viewing experience, in prime location on the High Street.
Working in close partnership with the Jockey Club, the Newmarket Charitable Foundation is planning to seek funding to refurbish the building and appoint a commercial cinema operator partner – whilst ensuring that the film programmes meet the charitable needs of public benefit, and may include festivals, school projects etc.
This project will bring a listed building of great historic significance which has fallen into disrepair back into public use, providing a huge community benefit (research continues to underpin the overwhelming appetite for a cinema in the town) and assisting in the transformation of the High Street.
Next steps: Press Release January 2023.
Following our recent press release linked above regarding the next steps for the Newmarket Cinema project, we are pleased to provide more information.
A mobile 100-seater cinema will be placed on The Several from 9-19th February 2023.
The objective of this part of the project is two-fold. Firstly, we are delighted to be able to offer residents the opportunity to enjoy a cinema-outing experience in Newmarket. Secondly, we want to explore residents’ thoughts about the project and to hear how you would use a community cinema should one be installed.
NCF and the other local parties involved must secure substantial funding for the cinema project to go forward. This funding is likely to come mainly from heritage funds, which help develop and maintain the use of existing buildings and support projects which connect people and communities. These funds include the National Lottery. All of these funding providers will request evidence about how and why residents feel a cinema would benefit them, their families, and the wider community. Therefore, we are asking interested residents to complete a short survey to help us gain the information we need. You can complete this survey as part of your visit to the mobile cinema, or you can complete it online. The survey results will help inform the project team about the next steps and, if applicable, the most appropriate types of funding to explore. The survey will be released in February via this website.
The details of the films to be shown and how to book your tickets will be released shortly via this website and our social media profiles.
Local organisations involved with the project include Newmarket Town Council , The Jockey Club
Working in partnership with us is the Abbeygate Cinema, Bury St Edmunds
If you have any queries, please contact us on [email protected]
