Announcements

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Winter Garden Secured for the Community

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that the Scottish Land Fund has awarded us a grant of £120,500 to buy the Winter Garden. It will not only enable us to secure the future of this much-loved building and the island's only cinema, but will, we hope, act as a catalyst for creative and exciting events and activities which will benefit the people who live on Bute and its visitors for many years to come. The Scottish Land Fund grant is a massive step forward - and we are grateful to the community, the Scottish Land Fund and the vendor, Visit Scotland, for supporting this extremely important project.”

The project has been led by a small Steering Group of Bute Community Land Company which has been working hard since January 2025 to purchase the building and to keep the cinema open. When the Visitor Centre closed in October the Steering group took over the running of the cinema on a temporary licence from Visit Scotland.

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Steering Group member Dorothy McDonald said “we would not have been able to do this without a huge amount of support from local people, and we are grateful to our staff and the team of dedicated volunteers who have been helping to run the cinema for the past two months. We have tried to increase the variety of films on offer, and have been delighted to include National Theatre productions and one-off screenings as well as films on general release to attract a wider audience. However, it has been a steep learning curve for us, and there are very high costs involved in running a cinema, so what we really need now is for local people to come to see films in the cinema on a regular basis. As the saying goes: use it or lose it!”

Award-winning actress Maureen Beattie, whose father Johnny Beattie was President of the Winter Garden Trust which was set up back in the 1980s when the building was under threat of demolition, is also a member of the Steering Group. Maureen said “This is the most wonderful news and I know that my dad, who was so involved in the saving of the building before, would be thrilled to know that this great step has been taken to save this glorious building for the community.”

Looking to the future, it costs a lot to maintain a Grade A listed building, and there will be further adaptations needed, so the work to obtain the necessary funding is only just beginning. Chair of Bute Community Land Company, Richard Whitcomb concluded “The Scottish Land Fund monies will enable us to own the building and thereafter we will seek further funding to make the adaptations needed to enhance the cinema experience, such as a cafe/bistro area for cinema-goers, and other modifications. There will be lots to do, however, the Steering Group is optimistic that there are enough people on Bute with the vision, creativity, skills and enthusiasm to ensure that this iconic building retains its place as a much-loved centre for culture and creativity on the island”.

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