The city architect in Chrudim is addressing the future of the summer cinema

Chrudim - Advocates for the preservation of the summer cinema in Chrudim are struggling to convince the city leadership that the area should be redeveloped according to their proposal. The MaChr association for Chrudim picturesque presented a sketch that accounted for reducing the number of seats from 1000 to 300 to 350, maintaining the projection booth and concrete projection wall with a stage, behind which a fire pit would be located. The remaining area would be reserved for several parking zones, and the rest would be covered with greenery. However, the municipal architect and the building and city development committee rejected the proposal.
    "We have taken note of it, but we want the architect to not only inform the proposal creator but to discuss it with him and look for further solutions. We cannot say that we, as the council, will proceed according to that sketch when experts reject it," said Deputy Mayor Jan Čechlovský (ODS) to journalists today.
    Municipal architect Marek Janatka and the committee criticized, especially according to their opinion, the limited functional use of the area, which does not fully utilize the site's potential. A new urban plan for Chrudim was approved in November, which envisions cultural events, greenery, and parking in the area, but the text part discusses the cancellation and demolition of the summer cinema.
    The MaChr association for Chrudim picturesque has organized a multitude of cultural events in the summer cinema in previous years. Last year, only for film screenings, 1580 people attended, and about 5000 for other events. "All arguments for the cancellation of the summer scene have fallen. The cinema is functioning, people are coming, theater performances, concerts, and other events are taking place there," said the chairman of the association Richard Herbst to ČTK some time ago. He also gathered more than 3000 signatures under the petition for the preservation of the amphitheater. He points out the high costs that the city hall's proposed adjustment option would incur. The city hall proposes a much larger number of parking spaces, reducing the auditorium, shifting the projection booth, and eliminating the permanent projection area. According to earlier estimates, the reconstruction would cost between 15 and 25 million crowns; therefore, the city wants to divide the project into several phases.