Millionaire prepares to launch first eco-cinema

A self-made millionaire is to open London's first eco-cinema.

The Lexi Cinema, brainchild of businesswoman Sally Wilton, will open in Kensal Rise next month.

Ms Wilton, 53, who has put £250,00 into the project in Chamberlayne Road, made her fortune running a conference firm which she sold two years ago for £21 million. "I have always wanted to run a cinema," she explained. "And when I found this building just around the corner from where I live I immediately thought, 'This is it.'

"It is not one of those awful multiplex affairs - it is a real, local cinema and one which we hope will make going to see a film a magical occasion." The 80-seat venue will show a mix of art-house, retrospective and mainstream movies, while its bar will serve fairtrade wine and organic ice cream.

The Lexi will be housed in the old Pinkham Theatre, retaining many of its Edwardian features, alongside a community space named the Pinkham Lighthouse. It opens on 9 October and all profits will go to the Sustainability Institute, which supports the Lynedoch Ecovillage being built in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It will consist of about 30 houses for people of all races and incomes.