A much-loved cinema that has finally been able to reopen for the first time since December 2020 has been included in the Government's latest lucrative culture fund.

The Keswick Alhambra Cinema has been awarded £84,782 in the third round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) - one of among 925 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards.

More than £100 million has been awarded to hundreds of cultural organisations across the country, supporting businesses from all corners of the sector as they deal with ongoing reopening challenges.

The Culture Recovery Fund has helped the Alhambra Cinema survive the enforced closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, and this latest round has additionally contributed to the investment the owners chose to make during the second lockdown.

Co-owner of the Alhambra Cinema, Carol Rennie, said: "The cinema has been perennially under threat of closure over the decades - twice in the 30 years that my father managed the business, but thanks to the Cultural Recovery Fund we’ve survived the longest closure and worst ever situation to hit the cinema, and are now looking to thrive throughout the second century of our operation!"

The cinema welcomed back film-goers in style with the new James Bond film, No Time To Die, on Friday September 15.

On top of having a brand new second screen installed, the front of the 108-year-old building has been restored after months of work by contractors and a "volunteer army".

Carol and co-owner Jonathan Moore used the time that they were afforded due to the Covid-19 lockdown to develop the building - using public donations to help fund the renovation of the building's front, and an investment from Jonathan helping to fund the new screen.

Jonathan said: “The Cultural Recovery Fund has kept the cinema afloat whilst we invested and reconfigured the business to ensure its long-term survival. It’s been a frantic year, but we’re now reopen and seeing the results already, with new, younger audiences coming through the doors."

The new auditorium will allow the Alhambra to screen a more diverse range of films to cater for younger audiences as well as their loyal older customers, made up primarily of regular visitors to the Lakes and holidaymakers.