A campaign group has called on Odeon chiefs not to leave their 'screens blank' after they announced the shock closure of Ayr's only cinema.
The credits are set to roll for the final time at the grand old picture house next month after bosses admitted the art deco cinema was “no longer viable.”
But furious local cinema goers have hit out at Odeon bosses for not even holding talks with the community before going ahead with their planned June 5 termination.
A collection of film enthusiasts from across South Ayrshire are hoping to change the script for the cinema they are desperate not to see “go to ruin”.
GP Dr Emma Brown is spearheading the campaign to rescue the cinema from the axe after fearing it will become another Station Hotel.
The mum-of-two, 47, has issued a call to action for Ayr to save their only cinema.
And she joined fellow campaigners including children who pleaded with the major cinema firm "Don't Go-deon," as they held up banners outside the Burns Statue Square venue.
Emma told Ayrshire Live: “I was immensely sad when I heard they were going to close the Ayr Odeon.
“What made it worse was that none of the regular users of such a magnificent cinema were asked for their views. Where was the public consultation on this?
“Surely the community who have spent their hard earned cash there should have been given the chance to have a say on the iconic cinema’s future?
“I dread to think what will become of it now, it is a beautiful art-deco building that has been there since the 1930s.
“Will it be demolished? I’d hate it to become like the Station Hotel Hotel and the many other beautiful buildings that sit in their own graveyards in Ayr. We desperately need answers and we need to take action now.”
Emma, who works in a medical practice in Dailly, is up for the fight to salvage the space which serves the community as a “vital social space”.
Originally from Glasgow, Emma has stayed in South Ayrshire for 10 years and has brought her children, aged nine and seven, up here.
And she has spent many mornings and afternoons on rainy Bank Holidays, school holidays and even when her children were only tots for the mother and baby screenings.
Emma added: “I’ve been a regular cinema goer all my life.
“I will not stand back and see this amazing building and cinema go to ruin.
“My kids are nine and seven and they have loved it. What else are mum’s going to do on a rainy bank holiday Monday?
“It was a place where I’d go when my two were just babies to the baby and mother screenings, but it’s not just that my parents enjoy the ‘Silver Screenings’ which includes tea and shortbread with their friends.
“It is more than just a cinema. It is a vital social space for many groups.”
Emma is so passionate about bringing blockbusters to the local community that she set up the successful Carrick Cinema Club in Maybole.
And the chair of the popular club, which organises regular screenings along with fresh snacks from local food vendors, believes the appetite for cinema clearly exists, as she vowed to challenge Odeon chiefs to think "out the box (office)."
She added: “I understand that Odeon will have commercial interests but Ayr is just stunning cinema, it has just been left neglected. That has driven people literally to Kilmarnock.
“The demand for cinema is clearly there and this old building could be brought back to life.
“I want the galvanise the people of Ayr to fight for their cinema.”
Odeon bosses declined to comment when approached by Ayrshire Live.
In a message sent to customers on Friday, the company said that "following a thorough assessment of all available options," they had taken the decision to shut in the town on June 5.
The firm said it was "looking to secure jobs for as many team members as possible in one of our other local cinemas."
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