Sir,

On a recent visit to Tenby, my father's birthplace, I was appalled to learn that the Royal Playhouse Cinema is at risk of destruction. The loss of this structure would be a major blow to Tenby's heritage. The developers report that 'despite actively marketing the building as a cinema, they have had little interest'.

Of course not; except in large centres, cinemas are not surviving. Cinemas are displaced by pay-per-view and internet viewing, and, as Bee Wilson wrote recently in the Sunday Times, cinema is, 'if not dead, then increasingly irrelevant to a generation formed by Facebook, television, mobile phones and Call of Duty'.

If the developers were serious about saving the building, they would market it imaginatively, for example, as a playhouse for live theatre.

If Tenby became a known regional or even UK centre for play production, the new complex and the entire town would benefit. This idea is not unrealistic; both the Stratford and Shaw festivals in Canada started as dreams of a few enthusiasts and are now centrepieces of their respective small towns, drawing thousands each summer.

I hope there may be enough spirit in Tenby to save this great old building and find it a useful future.

John Edmond,

Ottawa,

Ontario.