Town where you can step back in time

..BUT TRADERS WARN IT CAN BE 'DEAD' AFTER CHANGES WERE MADE

- By ANDREW ROBINSON

IT’S like stepping back in time - and that’s why many film fans adore the “unspoilt” Rex Cinema in the centre of Elland.

On a blustery Thursday afternoon, a group of friends from Huddersfield had just enjoyed a showing of Wicked: For Good at the Rex picture house which cost them £5.50 apiece.

Rex devotee Diane Swindon described the cinema as having a “nice cosy feel” where patrons can enjoy coffee and ice cream during the “interval” - a concept that might be alien to multiplex cinemagoers.

The Rex is one of the oldest purpose-built and structurally unaltered cinemas in the country. It was built in 1912 and today has a loyal clientele from as far away as Leeds and Manchester, with ticket prices said to be among the lowest in the country.

There is a kiosk for snacks and drinks in the foyer and prices are said to be affordable rather than extortionate.

Mick Johnson, also from Huddersfield, has been visiting the Rex for at least a decade and loves that it's an inexpensive day out. Nigel Swindon had also just seen Wicked: For Good and he said the Rex was “old fashioned” but in the best possible way.

“It has old fashioned ways like an interval.

“It shows all the latest films but it isn’t too busy.”

Nigel says Elland in general is a “nice little town” although the group tended to visit the Rex and not much else. However, some traders say the town centre hasn’t been the same since some of it was pedestrianised, with the loss of on-road parking spaces and restrictions on vehicle access.