CINEMA entrepreneur James Hannaway has got more than half of the �1 million he needs to buy the old Odeon in London Road, St Albans In light of a late flood of cash pouring in, the owners of the Odeon have been asked to grant an extension to the deadline

CINEMA entrepreneur James Hannaway has got more than half of the �1 million he needs to buy the old Odeon in London Road, St Albans

In light of a late flood of cash pouring in, the owners of the Odeon have been asked to grant an extension to the deadline date which had been set for today.

Although Mr Hannaway is still only half the way towards the �1million purchase price, he is confident that if everyone else honours their pledges on paper then the plan to buy the cinema can still happen.

A spokesperson for the site owners said he had put Mr Hannaway's request for the extension to them but had not yet heard anything.

Mr Hannaway, who wants to rename the cinema the Alpha, said the campaign to raise �1 million had received over �100,000 last Friday, taking the total before the weekend to around �350,000 in four weeks.

He went on: "But as of this morning the total is �520,985. This shows both phenomenal trust alongside extraordinary leaps of faith, beyond all expectation."

He is still confident that with enough determination and pledges coming in that the site can be purchased without needing professional investors outside St Albans.

Mr Hannaway added: "This has been my hope all along. We may well need them and banks to help fund the next stage (�2.5m) for restoration, but that's the next bridge."

He pledged that if the bid to buy the old Odeon failed, all the money would be returned in full.

Cheques should be made payable to The Alpha Cinema Ltd/The Alpha St Albans Ltd, and sent to The Alpha St Albans, The Rex Cinema, Three Close Lane, High Street, Berkhamsted HP4 2FG.