Dismay as plug pulled on plan for Cinemobile

But project organisers insist they will carry on fighting for the 100-seat Cinemobile - the first of its kind in England and Wales - and have called for an urgent meeting with Arts Council chiefs.

Phil Walkley, from the Dorset Film Touring Company who has spent five years working on the project, said: "It's a devastating blow and came completely out of the blue.

"We don't accept their letter and we have contacted all of Dorset's MPs, who are fully behind us. We just want the Arts Council to give us some answers. We are hoping it's just a hiccup and we will fight it."

The company was within £50,000 of reaching its £575,000 target for buying the Cinemobile which would visit towns such as Blandford, Gillingham and Sturminster Newton.

Mr Walkley said: "We intended placing the order this summer with a view to having it in operation by next spring. It's unforgivable what has happened."

In the meantime, he said the highly successful Moviola would continue to show films in smaller venues across Dorset.

An Arts Council spokeswoman said the project had had a complicated history since it was first proposed by the county council in 2001 and taken over by the Purbeck Film Charitable Trust which was awarded a grant of £398,374 in March 2003.

"The Trust made little progress following receipt of the grant and eventually they too withdrew from the project. This led to the creation of Dorset Film Touring Ltd and we were persuaded to give the company a third and - we made clear - final opportunity to realise this project."

A series of action points were agreed in April 2004 but, at a review in December, numerous problems remained, including the limited progress made on the project, she said.

"In addition, costs had risen considerably and we had concerns about the viability of running and operating the vehicle in light of new cinema provision now available in the area," she added.

First published: May 12