In response to several recent letters concerning the Astoria Cinema on the Old Steine, we do indeed own the building and, despite being hard at work putting a new show together for the Brighton Festival, behind the scenes we are still working on our Astoria plans.

The scaffolding at the front was put there both to protect the building frontage (which is listed, but was deteriorating) and the public, from falling masonry.

No doubt the unsightliness of this is bringing the building to everyone's attention but, prior to our ownership, it suffered many years of unnoticed neglect.

Before anything else can be done with the Astoria, it needs a new roof and the fascia needs to be renovated and restored.

This vastly increases the expense of restoration and, since there are no grants or lottery funds available to us, we are actively seeking private partners and sponsorship.

In the meantime, while the scaffolding may be an eyesore, behind it lies the potential of a wonderful performance/cinema space.

So, we apologise for the inconvenience, but we are working with architects on new internal designs, making feasibility studies and seeking partners and sponsors to resurrect the Astoria.

Many wonderful theatres and cinemas have been lost to Brighton and to redevelopment, most recently the Essoldo on North Street.

We do not intend to let the Astoria fall into the dereliction/redevelopment trap and will be revealing our plans for the Astoria in the near future.

-Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, Yes/No Productions, Ship Street, Brighton