“Unfortunately, people simply do not like walking there. Maybe when the area grows and there is more foot traffic this will change. But all the marketing and business planning in the world will not make people walk where they don't feel at ease.”

“I'm afraid I have long been an advocate of the City Council leaving the running of arts, cinemas and entertainment to the private sector who do it so much better.

Note that the O2 Academy will open shortly and provide the top quality entertainment that has been so lacking due to the council policy of promoting minority entertainment instead of majority entertainment.

I fear that Pheonix arts, curve and Demontfort hall will all suffer in the the same way over the next few years and the tough decision of privatising these sites will finally happen!”

“I thought it was sad when the old Phoenix closed, and didn't really see the need for a newer, bigger, more expensive version, as the audience it catered for was relatively small. I'm not convinced that the move to digital is a good thing-at the screening today of Bronco Bullfrog the DVD got stuck halfway through the film. Not very impressive for a new multi-million pound "state of the art" cinema. Of course, if the new Phoenix does not survive, those of us who like to go and see less mainstream films will have lost out completely as the old Phoenix is gone for good-something the council should have forseen.”

“£250,000? So much for the money they'll save by merging the central and reference libraries, then. And it won't be the last bail-out, either, unless they reduce the staffing and running costs and increase attendance.

The facilities ARE good but any dimbo can improve on existing facilities by going shopping for better ones with someone else's money. You wonder what kind of business planning took place before it got the green light. The councillors responsible probably thought like Red and saw it as a job-creation scheme first, a sexy regeneration project second and a self-supporting business third. No wonder it's in trouble.

Arts and Culture are vital to the Leicester but this issue shows that decisions on civic projects like Phoenix Square, the proposed New Walk Art Gallery and the closure of the Central Library are too important to be left to a few councillors -especially councillors with no expertise in project management, financial planning or public sector arts management. There needs to be much more non-political long-term planning, much more openness and much more public participation”

“Oh dear, why doesn't this surprise me. I was a regular visitor to the old and much missed Phoenix and would often watch a film with less than 10 others in the cinema. Where did they think that all the extra customers were going to materialise from? In other cities a venture such as this would be supported by the public, witness Broadway in Nottingham. The claims about a lack of parking are a red herring, I have always managed to find a space within easy walking distance. It's to difficult to find? In a city the size of Leicester? I don't think so. The truth is that the Leicester public are just not interested in sufficient numbers. Be prepared for similar announcements concerning all these live music venues in a year or so.”

“At the risk of saying "I told you so.....", the old Phoenix on Newarke Street needed to be refurbished and redeveloped as a cinema and live performance venue rather than closed down and relocated across the city centre to the fag-end of town as part of the City Council's grand plan of sub-dividing Leicester into various "quarters". Having said that, the new Phoenix Square is a wonderful cinema albeit in a less-than-wonderful location.

More needs to be done to let people know exactly where it is and the City Council should take some responsibility for this - on a dark night with its neon sign illuminated, you can see Phoenix Square from East Street by The Y Theatre (though it can easily be mistaken for a city centre boutique hotel rather than a cinema) but if you approach it from the A47 or Burleys Way flyover it just looks like an anonymous building. Better signage at street level and higher up would help to put it on the map and might attract more customers. I wouldn't want to encourage people to drive when they could walk or cycle to Phoenix Square but would agree with comments about the deplorable lack of nearby on-street parking - I know that there was a recent proposal to build a hotel on the waste ground next to Phoenix Square but could it be used for car parking at least on a temporary basis?”

“The problem is with the Phoenix is that it has lost what made it so different from other cinemas. Now it shows all the things that Showcase / Vue / Odeon show, for roughly the same prices on inferior screens. They need to get back to independent cinema and hold that niche market again. There visitor numbers may not change that much, I remember going and being one of only a handful of people there, but at least it won't be foolishly trying to compete with other cinemas far better than them.”

“Why would we want to bail out a cinema?? So many more things taxpayers money could be used towards... Things that would actually benefit the taxpayer!”

“£250,000 is nothing to keep such a great facility open. £1 per person? To save 17 jobs? Sounds like a bargain. Naturally the usual whingers turn up at the sniff of anything that's critical of the council. And hopefully, no-one's listening to them. And god knows why people in Melton and rural leicestershire care, it's not their money anyway. Just enjoy moaning I suppose.

No parking nearby? Can't anyone walk more than 50 yards these days?”

“I hate art”