Pop-up cinema in Derbyshire cancelled as Sheffield heads into Tier 3 lockdown restrictions

The Village Screen, which runs the pop up cinema in the Peak Cavern, Castleton, revealed they had made the decision to cancel the listings between October 23 and November 1 as the majority of its customers travel from areas which will be moving into Tier 3 lockdown in the coming days.

The move to Tier 3 will affect Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, from 12:01am on Saturday, October 24, while the Greater Manchester area will be put under the same restrictions on Friday.

Under Tier 3 - England's "very high" level of alert - pubs and bars that do not serve substantial meals have to close, and there are further restrictions on households mixing.

In a statement, The Village Screen said: “The recent government announcements to put Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire into Tier 3 have dealt a horrible blow to our small business.

"Over 80% of our customers come from these regions and because of Tier 3 restrictions, these customers are currently being advised against travelling outside of these ‘very high’ coronavirus areas.

"Therefore, we have had to make the very difficult decision to cancel our upcoming Halloween events at Peak Cavern. This has devastating consequences for our small business which, like many hospitality businesses, is already struggling during these testing times.

"But we are a resilient team and we will keep on going until we can get ‘back to normal’. We had such exciting plans for this weekend and the events were set to be incredible, but we think it would be remiss of us to encourage people to flour the guidance and travel to Castleton.”

Customers who have purchased tickets for the Halloween showings can either opt for a full refund or transfer their ticket to a future event.

The Village Screen said it is currently in the process of planning Christmas drive-in showings in Sheffield as well as next year’s Peak Cavern events.

The pop-up cinema company added: “Thank you so much for your support. We wish you all the best and we hope to see you very soon! Our Christmas Drive Ins are looking set to be fabulous and we hope to see you there.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.