CBD takes another hit with cinema closure

THE closure of the Darwin Cinema complex is further reinforcement of the sad state of business in the Darwin CBD

The Darwin city BCC cinema which will be closing down, leaving the entire building unused.

THE closure of the Darwin Cinema complex is further reinforcement of the sad state of business in the Darwin CBD.

The announcement of the cinema’s November closure comes at the same time that Access Economics is reporting that the Northern Territory has the slowest-growing economy alongside Tasmania.

Commsec is reporting the same bad news, but then this does not come as a surprise to anyone in our business community, nor the Northern Territory Government. With construction activity in the doldrums, so too is population growth in the Top End.

It seems almost unthinkable that Darwin city no longer has the people power to sustain a five-cinema complex.

No other capital city in Australia is without a CBD cinema complex. (The outdoor Deckchair Cinema does not qualify as a major cinema complex).

A major cinema complex is part of the leisure and entertainment fabric of the city. Too bad if you are a tourist or a visitor to town looking for a quiet night at the movies.

There was a time when getting a seat in the Darwin Cinema meant an early arrival and a long queue wait. Is it really so bad in our city that we do not have enough people interested in going to the cinema any more?

Of course northern suburb families are well catered for by the Casuarina Cinema complex and likewise Palmerston and rural families are just a short drive from the new Gateway Palmerston Cinema complex.

Revitalisation and repopulation of the Darwin CBD cannot come quick enough.