Oakham Town Council is recommending a planned £2M cinema in the town be refused by Rutland County Council.

The recommendation came at last week's 'full' meeting of the town council at ROLL House last Wednesday night, which featured a 'lengthy' agenda.

Mayor Zoe Nealson told Nub Nub News: "The town council voted to recommend refusal of this planning application based on the changes it would involve to the building and the loss of a Community facility.

"The town council views will be forwarded to Rutland County Council and considered alongside all other consultee views, including those of the public, when the application is considered by the Planning Committee."

Mayor Nealson said people present spoke passionately about the planning application for Rutland Kino at the Victoria Hall. The town council welcomes this, and public attendance at meetings, inviting residents to speak on agenda items, so councillors can directly hear their views.

She continued: "The planning application was considered and debated in depth baring in mind the presentation we had received from the public, correspondence we have received from residents and feedback we have received verbally.

"The council discussed positives and negatives of both the possibility of a new business in Oakham and the planning application for the Victoria Hall.

"Oakham Town Council wants to support businesses old and new within the town as well as preserving and enhancing the facilities available to residents and visitors."

However, as reported earlier, members feared its impact on existing facilities.

Such a move reflects opposition Nub News discovered had been submitted to Rutland County Council by last week, expressing similar views as the county council seeks public feedback as part of the application process.

By contrast, the people behind the scheme say there is much support for the proposal, announcing that the cinema has already reached the halfway mark in its £2 million fundraising.

When details of the scheme were announced in June , support appeared more extensive.

More positive reaction also now appears to be received by the county council, which is accepting comments here.

Subject to planning approval and funding, Andrew Robinson and Genevieve Margrett hope to open the Rutland Kino cinema next summer.

Genevieve has spent around 5 years looking for a site in the town and Andrew, who lives in Rutland, is a former cinema company chief executive.

Elsewhere at the town council meeting, members reviewed council policies to ensure they are relevant, effective and meet current legislation.

Mayor Nealson said: "At this meeting we discussed making changes to our standing orders, including changing any reference of him/her to they to ensure we are up to date in terms of equality and diversity, as well as confirming that policies had been reviewed and were up to date.

"The council agreed that the policy and procedure working group would look in depth at each policy over the coming year to ensure any relevant changes that may need to be made are brought to council for discussion."

The meeting, however, began at 7.30pm rather than the usual 6.30pm to enable members to attend the beating the retreat ceremony in Oakham Market Place.

Mayor Nealson added: "I attended the ceremony as Mayor and particularly enjoyed the performance provided by the British Army Band."