An independent cinema in Romford will remain open after a U-turn came only a matter of hours after it announced it would be closing down.
Lumiere Cinema, located in the Mercury Shopping Centre, posted on its Facebook page early this afternoon (August 20) that it would be closing its doors permanently.
The post contained a link to a multi-paragraph explanation, written by Romford Film Trust chair Spencer Hawken, who claimed the closure was down to a "dispute" with the cinema's electricity provider.
Spencer initially wrote: "It is with much sadness that I must report the Lumiere journey has ended.
"Obviously, nothing's over until it's truly over, but I'm warning you now in case you're setting off on journeys to come and see us, that we are closed, and it is highly unlikely that we will be reopening.
"I, again, sincerely apologise, and we hope that someone picks up the cinema in the not-too-distant future.
"This won't be the last you've heard from me, but it'll be the last you'll hear from me for a little while."
However, at around 3.30pm today, another post was made on the cinema's Facebook page reading: "Crisis averted!
"The doors are open, update following shortly."
Around 20 minutes after this, Spencer began a Facebook live video where he confirmed that Lumiere was to remain open.
He thanked the community for messages of support and even offers to help financially that he had received.
“I am really grateful for the support we’ve had from our community," he said.
“It means so much – I don’t know what to say.
“It’s been a day but thank you, thank you, thank you and sorry if we stressed you out.
“We are back operational but we have lost a day’s trade."
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