THE Southern Grampians Shire Council have said it plans to investigate and progress the return of the Hamilton Cinema to private operation under a lease agreement after a resolution at last week’s council meeting.

The Hamilton Cinema, which has been managed by the council since 2008, has now been advertised by a tender process to seek industry interest in facilitating the entertainment service under a lease agreement.

Southern Grampians Shire Council mayor, Bruach Colliton said council took over management of the cinema back in 2008 to ensure continuity of the service for the region, however, the timing was now right to investigate new possibilities to revitalise the service.

“Council understands how important the cinema is within the community as an entertainment service for residents young and old, so this process is really about looking to the future as to what is the best possible option for our patrons going forward,” Cr Colliton said.

“While council’s operation of the cinema has been met with various successes, it remains outside of council’s core business. The cinema is operated as a function of the Performing Arts Centre using both permanent and casual staff.

“Having a larger-scale private operator of the cinema would result in a more economically viable model for the community in the long-term, as they would have greater freedoms in negation power with film distributors and the capacity to bring new movies to the screen without the delays we face as an independent operator. They would also bring the specialised knowledge and technical expertise that we currently lack.

“Council has long acknowledged that the management of this service has been a temporary solution with the long-term view to transition it back to a cinema provider when the opportunity arose.

“With recent renewed interest in the cinema, now is the right time to look at change and the future of the service.”

Council resolved to undertake a public procurement process to seek interest in the private operation.

Following the public tender process, a further procurement report will be presented to council.