THE silver screen could be making a comeback in a Gwent town after more than a decade-long absence.

Plans for a cinema in Abergavenny could be given the thumbs up after a campaign by residents.

Monmouthshire council planning bosses have earmarked two possible sites for a new movie theatre.

It comes after film-buffs made a plea for the pictures to make a return to the town.

Abergavenny has been without a theatre since the Coliseum and Pavilion cinemas closed in the 1980s.

More than a year ago fed up residents set up the Abergavenny Cinema Support Group and have campaigned for a new cinema for the last 18 months.

David Powell, of the ACSG, gave the news a cautious welcome.

He said: "We are delighted the council has put forward these plans.

"Although we will only really believe it when we see it, anything that promotes the advent of a cinema is welcomed by us."

At a meeting of the council's Bryn-y-Cwm area committee, councillor Andre Arkell said Abergavenny's Bethany Chapel and Drill Hall had been identified as potential homes for the new cinema.

The council has already consulted with 13 cinema operators who believe, although there is not enough demand for a multiplex, the town could sustain a two-screen cinema.

It is understood the Drill Hall, currently a home improvement store, is the favoured location. It is spacious enough to take two screens.

The project would cost more than £500,000 to acquire, make sound and adapt the building.

Mr Arkell said: "We will be asking the county council cabinet to back the project and put in the hard cash."

The news comes after last week's outrage by residents after the council's area manager, Dale Roberts, put forward a plan for a mobile cinema in the town's Market Hall.

David Powell said: "We are a town, not a village, and deserve a proper cinema."

The proposals for the mobile cinema have now been deferred.