I READ with interest your lead article in the Evesham Journal about the Regal Cinema.

As an enthusiastic cinemagoer and a former manager of the town's Tourist Information Centre, I applaud any efforts to get the Regal Cinema up and running again. It surprises me that in a town of this size, with a steadily growing population, it has not emerged as a viable proposition to restore and reopen the cinema. Whilst I agree to some extent with Martin Jennings' views about the effects of the present Listing of the building it does, at least, prevent the existing building from being demolished and replaced with flats.

The town's population grows but our facilities, in some directions, fail to match this growth resulting in people seeking their entertainment and leisure activities outside the town. One comment by Mr Jennings, which I must deplore, is his comparison with Number 8 in Pershore. Whilst I do not wish to detract from Pershore's success there is no reason why Evesham could not match or even surpass this success. This will be hard to achieve if Mr Jennings' lukewarm and unenthusiastic comments reflect the opinions of the rest of our district councillors.

A C WHITING, Offenham Road, Evesham.