MEMBERS of a unique New Forest cinema facility are hoping to continue to provide popular live performance screenings.

The Regal Cinema in Fordingbridge, which seats just 30 people, streams a number of professional opera, ballet and drama from the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company.

To facilitate these screenings a significant investment was made in specialist equipment to broadcast the live transmissions via satellite.

A dish needed to be installed onto the cinema building, however when it came to mounting the 80cm dish on the only elevation deemed suitable by the conservation officer it was discovered that the signal received was not sufficient.

Engineers subsequently said a larger 120cm dish was required and any dish in excess of 100cm requires planning permission.

An application has been submitted to New Forest District Council and members are hoping for a successful outcome.

Brain Currie, chairman of the Fordingbridge Regal Cinema Club, said: "It is much safer and cheaper than 30 people getting in cars or going up to London on the train to watch a show.

"It is a unique service, but we cannot offer it without this satellite dish. This won't go on forever because as rural broadband gets better we will be able to do it through an internet stream."

Mr Currie says the proposed position for the dish has no impact on the street scene and could only be seen from a handful of residents' houses.

The cinema on Shaftesbury Road reopened last year after more than 50 years and has proved to be extremely popular.

"We thought we would end up with 100 members, but now we have got nearly 700 members," Mr Currie added.

"We have had to take on two people full time because of the interest in the Regal Cinema.

"The cinema has provided something for the community. I find it difficult to walk down the high street without people saying it's wonderful. It closed in 1962 and the community are delighted to get the cinema back."