There is ground-breaking work underway at Avoca Beach Picture Theatre … literally.
Norman Hunter, who owns the theatre with wife Beth, said work had begun on exploring the option of using a geothermal system for heating and cooling as the theatre’s plans for expansion continue.
“We are so excited by this,” Hunter said.
“They have done a test by drilling a bore to a depth of 100m – they will insert pipe work into that and then next week will be testing thermal conductivity and absorption to see how efficient it will be in heat transfer.
“The plan is that we will have up to 30 of these bores drilled and they will provide the means to heat and cool our extensions.
“This system operates at a fraction of the energy loading that a traditional efficient air conditioning system runs.
“I don’t think anyone on the Central Coast has attempted to manage heating and cooling this way on the Coast; it’s really exiting technology with extraordinary benefits to the whole community and has been a passion project of mine for about 16 years.”
Hunter said the move supports the theatre’s philosophy of sustainability using renewable resources.
He said there was no definite time frame for the proposed extensions.
Meanwhile, the theatre has welcomed a $35,000 grant from the Federal Government Theatre under the second round of the $20M Supporting Cinemas’ Retention Endurance and Enhancement of Neighbourhoods (SCREEN) Fund.
“This is a grant which was offered to every independent cinema across Australia,” Hunter said.
“The cinema industry has been slammed by COVID, as have many other industries – this past January was the worst in cinema history.
“We normally rely on Christmas trading to get us through whole year so this money is very welcome, with rates, insurance and land tax all falling due at the end of January.
Avoca Beach Theatre is an iconic venue, offering films not shown in many other cinemas across the Coast.
Administered by Screen Australia, the Government announced a second round of the SCREEN Fund in December 2021 to support independent cinema operators with grants of up to $85,000 if they have experienced significant declines in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Terry Collins