A Tauranga couple who took a public stand last year against inadequate seating for wheelchair patrons and their companions at Event Cinemas Tauranga finally got to sit together at the movies in style last week.

Merle and Dion Seeling approached The Weekend Sun in September after years of frustrating attempts to sit together when going to the movies.

Unlike other cinemas in the city, Event Cinemas Tauranga in Elizabeth St (formerly Bay City Cinemas) does not have rows of seating with seats removed so wheelchair patrons can sit next to their companions. Wheelchair patrons sit in a space behind the seated area.

Merle sometimes took her own camping chair along to the cinema so she could sit next to Dion, who uses a wheelchair, or was provided with an uncomfortable wooden chair or office chair by cinema staff.

Event Cinemas general manager of operations in New Zealand, Carmen Switzer, promised to rectify the situation with new, moveable seats. A moveable seat that can be wheeled into place alongside a wheelchair patron was added to each of the main cinemas at Event Cinemas Tauranga on March 30.

Manager Justin Chaney says the chairs can be wheeled from one cinema to the next if required. If people requiring the seats are able to book in advance, they can be put in place before their arrival.

Merle booked ahead for a wheelchair space last week and was delighted to find one of the new seats ready and waiting for her.

'We came up the ramp and saw the chair and thought ‘No way!' It was the first time I was happy to be at the movies in ages because I didn't have to go through the drama of trying to find a seat. It was a super comfortable chair with two drink holders. They've finally come to the party so we're back on for the movies.”

Disabled Person's Assembly spokesman and chair of Tauranga's Disability Advisory Group, Paul Curry, proposed a boycott of Event Cinemas Tauranga last year until such time as the company honoured its commitments to people with disabilities.