BY now Christmas reading material, CDs and DVDs will mostly have been finished.

So there was a chance to ‘top up’ and help the Ludlow Assembly Rooms at the same time.

Every February, the Ludlow Assembly Rooms holds a two-day Mega Book sale to boost funds.

But it is far more than just books because CDs, DVDs and even videos, another relic from the past, are available.

The Assembly Rooms is heavily dependent upon volunteer support, charitable fundraising and donations. Ludlow Town Council makes an annual donation of £15,000.

The Assembly Rooms says that the grant support from Ludlow Town Council and other fundraising is vital.

Ludlow Assembly Rooms is part way through a five-year strategic plan.

The facility says that it is never going to be able to pay its way through ticket sales and hire-income, although it has been able to significantly increase its income.

"This is why we have a five-year development plan, having anticipated that public-sector funding would diminish over the coming years," said the Assembly Rooms in its grant application to Ludlow Town Council last year.

"Continuing support from Ludlow Town Council will both help attract external funding and ensure the focus of external fundraising activity can be directed towards raising the capital funding required for our long-term sustainability, rather than plugging short-term funding gaps.’

The Assembly Rooms says that, in 2015-16, it screened 120 films over 320 and sold 25,000 tickets.

It staged a pantomime performed by the Ludlow-based Appletree Theatre Group and was used by two local amateur groups to stage shows.

Ludlow College students also performed their annual show at the Assembly Rooms and students were also able to spend a week with members of the technical team learning about lighting, sound and other backstage skills.

Other activities included ‘A weekend of words’ including a holocaust survivor attended by more than 100 school children, Under Milkwood, Alan Johnson MP and poet Carole Anne Duffy.

There were also 40 live screenings from the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and English National Opera.

Ludlow Assembly Rooms is also the home of the town’s Visitor Information Centre and is used by a number of clubs.

However, despite its successes the Assembly Rooms remains dependent upon grants and subsidies for its survival at a time when public funding is becoming harder to win.

It is also heavily dependent upon volunteers and has a team of 150 volunteers in different roles including stewarding, box office and film projection.

However, the number of volunteers has been declining over recent years, causing concerns.

In an attempt to try to reverse this, a successful funding bid was made to The Esmee Fairburn Foundation for a three-year project to increase the number of volunteers.

The Assembly Rooms provides a vital lifeline to the arts for people living in Ludlow and south Shropshire where there is lengthy and expensive travel involved in getting to other towns and cities to enjoy cinema and theatre.