CONTRACTORS working to a tight timetable have begun the £5.5million refurbishment of Poole’s Lighthouse.

The project will include transforming the venue’s entrance and its Studio theatre.

It will also involve replacing the mechanism for the Concert Hall’s complex moving floor – which broke down just before the refurbishment got under way.

Lighthouse chief executive Elspeth McBain said she was determined the venue would be ready for Wednesday, October 12, when the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to perform its traditional autumn curtain-raiser.

The work on the 38-year-old centre will see the entrance doors moved to the centre of the building, with the patterned glass frontage replaced by clear windows so the public can see what is going on inside.

“We’re moving the doors to the middle and that will allow us to divide the building into sections. At the moment we have to open all the building or none,” said Ms McBain.

Lighthouse’s small theatre venue, the Studio, will be transformed, with seats on three sides of the performance area, with the intention of creating the venue’s own productions there.

The complex mechanism which removes the Concert Hall’s seating and replaces it with a flat floor will be overhauled.

“It’s 40 years old and it failed the week before the closure,” said Ms McBain.

“That’s going to be refurbished and that’s going to cost almost £200,000. It’s a lot of money for something no one will see but it’s business-critical.”

The Concert Hall will also be given a new air cooling and humidification system. “We’re spending quite a significant amount of money because when the weather is warm, it becomes intolerable not only for the audience but for the performers as well,” she added.

The back stage area will be modernised, with the first ever significant refurbishment for the tiny dressing rooms which have been used by stars such as Michael Jackson, Kate Bush and Oasis.

The backstage area was untouched by the last refurbishment 16 years ago, when Poole Arts Centre took the name Lighthouse.

“Artists are always left behind. It’s the area the public doesn’t see,” said Ms McBain.

“This time we’ve been very clear we wanted to do the work that wasn’t done in the last refurbishment.”

She added: “The biggest change that the public will see is with the Studio theatre, which is going to be completely transformed.

“That’s a response to our desire to work with artists to develop new work in a space that will allow them to experiment and do things differently.”