AUDIENCES at the Malvern Theatres and its cinema could be boosted by moves to make the venue more accessible to residents in Ledbury and Colwall.

A mass mailshot of 3,750 Ledbury addresses is to be carried out to see if there is enough support for a late evening bus link between the towns.

The survey is being carried out on the instructions of Ledbury Town Council and a similar exercise is being mounted by Colwall Parish Council.

The idea for the link was put forward by Colwall councillor Phil Browning, who said it would allow Ledbury and Colwall residents to "get into the theatre or cinema in Malvern and return later the same evening".

Mark Kelly, Herefordshire Council's public transport assistant, said that evening bus services in the area were "very limited" but that costings and logistics of putting on a late evening link between Ledbury and Malvern "would be difficult".

If such a service ran at £100 a night for three evenings a week, the annual bill would be £16,000.

However a Parish Transport Grant could meet some of the costs, if the surveys show "evidence of need".

The project will be discussed further at a Vital Villages meeting in Colwall Parish Hall on January 14.

The meeting will be attended by representatives from Ledbury Town Council, Colwall Parish Council, Malvern Wells Parish Council and Herefordshire Council.