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City of York Council leader Steve Galloway said the cinema provided a very important night-time leisure opportunity for residents and visitors.

"The Odeon also has a special place in the hearts of many older York residents," he said.

"It would be a tragedy if it were lost purely for reasons of commercial gain."

He said he would be talking with planning officers to see what could be done to safeguard the facility for residents, perhaps by making use of conservation legislation.

Coun Dave Merrett, who is Labour leader and a councillor for the Micklegate ward where the cinema is based, also backed the campaign, along with fellow Micklegate councillors Sandy Fraser and Dave Evans.

Coun Fraser said: "It's very important to the area and the city as a whole. Not everybody wants to go out to Clifton Moor."

He added that they did not want to see a unique, art-deco building turned into yet more expensive flats. Support also came from York's Labour MP Hugh Bayley and Ryedale's Tory MP John Greenway.

Mr Bayley said: "It's my cinema of choice because of the atmosphere and because it's in the city centre. It deserves cross-party support because it's too valuable to lose."

Mr Greenway said: "Youngsters need somewhere to go in the city centre and the Odeon fulfils that function. I took my own children there in the past."

Fears that the cinema might close have been growing since the owners revealed last autumn they were "assessing its economic viability".

The campaign, which was launched by the Evening Press on Thursday, calls for it to stay open after a sensitive refurbishment.

Please keep your comments coming, by phoning 01904 567132, email to matthew.woodock@ycp.co.uk, or by letter to: Matthew Woodcock, Evening Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York YO1 1YN.

THE Evening Press has been flooded with more messages of support for the Save The York Odeon campaign.

Val Duggan, 47, of Holgate, said his two sons, aged ten and 15, regularly used the cinema and they recently made a birthday trip there. He and his wife go to the cinema about twice a month and the Odeon is within walking distance of their home.

"I think it is a great campaign," he said. "We use both the Odeon and Warner Village, but I appreciate a lot of people can't. We would be disappointed if the Odeon closed. To lose a facility like that would be a crying shame."

Rosemary Gibson, 70, from Woodthorpe, said: "It's a terrible way to get rid of something so

valuable."

Kate Houghon, 70, of Poppleton, said: "I went to the Odeon an awful lot when I was younger. I would hate to see it pulled down."

Francis Forth, 71, of Acomb, said: "When I was a little girl my Saturday treat was to go to the Odeon. I raised my children in York and took them to the Odeon and now I've got grandchildren in Leeds that come over for the holidays and I take them to the Odeon.

"I haven't got a car and couldn't get to Clifton Moor, and many young people cannot afford to travel there. What are we supposed to do? The Odeon is part of our heritage."

Helen Macray, 37, from Huntington Road, said : "York is built on history and the Odeon is part of that history. To take it away to build modern flats would be scandalous."

Derek Taylor, from Woodthorpe, who visits the cinema with his wife, Gwen, said: "It would be disastrous to lose such a unique building. It should be refurbished and have a caf incorporated which as well as cinema users, would be useful for people waiting for buses and coaches."

Jeff Ambler, from Hull, said: "As an ex-resident of York, I have spent many hours in this fine building and it would be a tragedy if it were lost."

Architect Andrew Halstead, who has moved from York to Queensland, Australia, said from Down Under: "I can't believe that it might soon go - it is a fine building. It would be a real gem if returned to it's former glory with a sensitive facelift."

Updated: 09:26 Saturday, January 17, 2004