The Township of Langley’s mayor says the municipality hasn’t given up on efforts to preserve the region’s last-remaining drive-in movie theatre.
The comments come after the Twilight Drive-In posted to social media that 2024 would be its final season.
The drive-in first announced the 2024 closure last summer citing rent and property increases, and now says despite efforts in the off-season to resolve the issues, it has decided the business is “no longer viable.”
That came as a surprise to township Mayor Eric Woodward, who told Global News city staff are still working on proposals to keep the business in town.
Last summer, the township’s council voted to explore ways to keep the business afloat, and Woodward said they expected to have until at least this summer to come back with ideas.
“So I was equally surprised … along with the community, that this announcement had come out that this was their last season, where they haven’t followed up with us,” he said.
Woodward said it was clear the drive-in’s current location was non-viable, but that staff were talking to other property owners in the Aldergrove region to explore whether it could work at another site.
The 100-car facility requires five to six acres of land to accommodate movie viewers, according to Woodward.
He acknowledged finding another site would be a challenge, describing the community as “land poor” given that many properties are in the Agricultural Land Reserve, which has strict regulations about non-agricultural land use.
“It’s been a harder one for us, but we have been working on it. So again, very little disappointed to see another public announcement without reaching out to us again,” he said.
In an email, the operators of the family-owned business told Global News they had met with the mayor in June, but have not received any further communications in the last eight months.
“We’re not sure why Mayor Woodward is surprised – Regardless if a new location is found or not, 2024 is the final season for the Twilight Drive-In, located at 260th Street & Fraser Highway. This drive-in is closing either way,” the operators said.
“If a new location is found, then that will be a new, different drive-in. Just like after the Hillcrest Drive-In closed in Surrey, we built the new Twilight Drive-In in the TOL. And it took a couple years before the new drive-in opened!”
Woodward said the drive-in has major nostalgic value to the community, and because of its unique status also acts as an economic driver by bringing people into Langley for the drive-in experience.
Woodward said staff are expected to come back with a report on possible options at some point this summer, which would allow five to six months’ lead time if the theatre were to reopen at another site in time for 2025.
- As Canada’s tax deadline nears, what happens if you don’t file your return?
- Do you need to own a home to be wealthy in Canada? How renters can get ahead
- Posters promoting ‘Steal From Loblaws Day’ are circulating. How did we get here?
- Investing tax refunds is low priority for Canadians amid high cost of living: poll
Comments