THE Regent Centre will definitely reopen today - but some seating remains closed.

The popular theatre and arts centre in Christchurch closed a week ago for refurbishment to the bar area. But while this work was carried out council engineers discovered a structural issue on the exterior of the south side of the building.

Preliminary surveys found corrosion in the supporting columns in the south east wall of the building.

The columns have been assessed as being safe to support the roof and circle floor constructions but, as a precautionary measure, the decision has been taken not to allow anyone to sit in the circle as this would "increase the load carried by the structure", a spokesperson for Christchurch council said.

All ground floor stall seating is safe to be used.

Lindsay Cass, head of property and engineering at Christchurch and East Dorset Councils said: “We are pleased the findings in the structural report mean the ground floor of the auditorium can be reopened, but currently the circle seating will remain closed until further notice.

"We will be meeting with the structural engineer early next week and carrying out further investigations to help us decide on the best way forward.

"We continue to work closely with the Regent Centre to ensure the best outcome for everyone.”

Felicity Porter, general manager at the Regent Centre said ticketholders for the affected seats will be contacted directly and offered refunds or alternative tickets.

The permanent repair works will mean replacing the corroded beams and re-plating the corroded columns in the south east side of the building.