Actor John Hurt is encouraging people to get behind an appeal to raise £50,000 for the Norfolk at the Pictures project at Cinema City.

The Oscar nominated star and north Norfolk resident was at the Norwich cinema today to launch the fundraising campaign which aims to help pay for new accessible education and community facilities within the planned Screen Heritage Centre.

A decision is also due next month on a much hoped for £500,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant and this would also be used for the project.

Mr Hurt is patron of the charity Cinema Plus, the education arm of Norfolk and Norwich Film Theatre Ltd which founded Cinema City in 1978 and which is leading the Norfolk at the Pictures project.

'All we are trying to raise is £50,000, it's not a lot, it really isn't a lot, particularly if people understand the importance of it,' he said.

'The money is going towards the facilities that are kind of here but they need quite a lot of things doing to them in order that you can get wheelchairs in and that sort of thing. It [the building] needs a lift and the floor is being changed as well. It's actually quite a big job. It won't look as though there's been a huge amount done when it's finished, because it will still have the same really beautiful feeling about the building, but it will be considerably more useful.'

When asked why it was important to give as many people as possible the chance to enjoy cinema, he said: 'Cinema has become very much a part of our lives and it's an educational tool apart from anything else as well as being something which is a pleasure and something you can enjoy.'

Norfolk at the Pictures seeks to involve cinema-goers in a programme of events and activities to capture and share cinema history. The Screen Heritage Centre is key to the project and will transform an outdated and difficult to reach education space into a hub for learning, exhibitions and community use. A new entrance and lift in the Cinema City courtyard, together with better facilities and equipment, will enable Cinema Plus to hold more activities including education workshops, film discussion groups, training sessions for community groups and reminiscence sessions for people living with dementia, as well as show exhibitions exploring Norfolk's cinema heritage.

• To donate funds visit www.norfolkatthepictures.org.uk

• Do you have a story about an arts project in Norwich? Email arts correspondent Emma Knights at emma.knights@archant.co.uk