A landmark building in Diss is inching closer to receiving the major refurbishment it needs to bring the historic venue into the 21st century. Listed building consent is being sought to give the interior of Diss Corn Hall a modern makeover to make it a more pleasurable place in which to see plays, musicals performances and exhibitions.

A LANDMARK building in Diss is inching closer to receiving the major refurbishment it needs to bring the historic venue into the 21st century.

Listed building consent is being sought to give the interior of Diss Corn Hall a modern makeover to make it a more pleasurable place in which to see plays, musicals performances and exhibitions.

If given the go-ahead, work should start at the end of June which will transform the hall's current canary yellow walls into shades of rich reds and deep plums, and include the hanging of new foam acoustic panels which will stop sound reverberating around the room.

The work has been organised so the Grade II listed hall will stay open throughout the redecoration, which is expected to be completed in mid-July.

The next stage will be to revamp the hall's toilets, which will include creating women's toilets downstairs and moving the accessibility toilet from outside into the building. It is hoped this work will be finished in November.

The regeneration project is set to cost more than �140,000, which has been funded mainly by South Norfolk Council and the venue's owner, Diss Town Council.

Manger Angela Sykes said she was 'delighted' that the long-awaited refurbishment was soon to get underway.

She said: 'The architect and project manager have come up with a cunning plan to help us keep the hall open during this.

'We thought it was vital having put so much energy into the Corn Hall that a small disruption was worth it to keep it open.

'In a way it's good because people can see that things have been happening. For a long time people have been waiting for a tangible sign that things were moving.'

She added that the acoustic panelling would hopefully attract more performers and visitors to the 19th century hall who previously raised concerns about the sound quality inside.

'This will go quite a long way to solve the things the people were mentioning to us about the Corn Hall. We're really thrilled. People will see a difference from the end of the summer,' she said.

The start of the year marked a new era for the Corn Hall when a charitable trust took over the running of the building. A new programme of entertainment kicked-off in February when the hall hosted BBC Radio 4's Any Questions?

The hall's latest brochure, detailing events taking place from July to September, is available from this week.

For more information, call Diss Corn Hall on 01379 652241 or visit www disscornhall.co.uk