ISN'T it a shame that the SOS (Save Our Savoy) campaign seems to have stalled. I believe that this is because the structure of the building is no longer viable.

This needn't mean that one of our town-centre cinemas could not be re-opened. Another idea might be to re-open the currently unused Rivoli as a working Cinema. The building was still open up until a year or so ago, long after the Savoy finally closed its doors.

I am sure bodies such as the National Trust, European Community and National Lottery would be very interested in helping St Helens folk restore a rapidly-disappearing part of our country's cinema heritage which can never be replaced once gone.

I would much rather walk into town and sit in the comfortable surroundings of a picture palace to watch a film which I really wanted to see, than drive on treacherous roads to a soulless multiplex in the middle of nowhere and walk half-a-mile through the car park, all the time wondering if I will have a car to return to when I leave.

The Rivoli is ideally situated near the main bus/rail stations, meaning access couldn't be easier.

Even the cinema's magnificent Christie Organ might be replaced, as I am sure the St Helens Cinema Organ Society would jump at the chance of installing their own instrument in the type of building for which it was designed.

A re-opened Rivoli would be a valuable asset for the town and its people, providing a fantastic venue for all manner of events and shows, as well as films.

Everyone I have approached so far thinks it is an excellent idea. I don't know how easy it would be for the people of St Helens to resurrect the Rivoli, but surely it would be worth a try.

Steven Britch, Gladstone Street, Newtown.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.