WORK totalling almost £7m to improve the Festival Hall is being considered by Petersfield Town Council.

But, although the proposals by Foster Wilson Architects are still at the committee stage, the first phase of work costing about £1.6m could start this year.

This will see an ageing single-storey kitchen on the side of the hall replaced by a two- storey extension, the councils’ public halls committee heard on January 8.

Re-arranging the Rose Room bar and its toilets to make them disabled friendly, has also been identified as phase one work in the architect’s comprehensive feasibility report.

Council spokesman Steve Field said: “A lot of the money for the new extension and Rose Room refurbishment has been identified in developers’ contributions.

“Replacing the 40-year old extension that was built as ‘temporary’, is long overdue and will benefit everyone who uses the Festival Hall off Heath Road.

“The work on the Rose Room will make it far more practicable and also elegant.

“And it is also hoped there will be agreement in principle on the rest of the work before the local council elections in May 2019.

“In its entirety, this is a very significant project.”

The proposed extension will house a modern commercial kitchen, and upstairs there will be a control room for the hall stage.

The feasibility report proposes that two old and cramped lighting booths either side of the stage should become audience galleries overlooking the stage, big enough for a dozen people.

One option suggested for the second phase involves removing the Festival Hall stage completely and lowering the dressing rooms to the level of the hall floor.

A section of ‘bleacher’ seating in a pit the width of the hall and in front of the floor level performance space would be installed.

When the bleacher seats are finished with, they could be folded away below floor level so floor sections can be laid across the pit allowing the whole hall to be used.

There could also be a new bigger council chamber upstairs in the extension, with the existing one rented out, or converted into offices.

It’s proposed that two lifts are installed so the whole building is accessible, and there is a list of other changes and proposals, which bring the cost of the phase two work to about £5.2m.

Mr Field said: “These are dramatic, ambitious ideas, but everything has been costed in.”

Councillors will provide feedback on the feasibility report to the next public halls committee meeting on February 12.