THE Haymarket Theatre is set to get a £175,000 facelift before it reopens in September.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council bosses are planning to use their funds to revamp the "tired" décor at the Wote Street venue before it is relaunched under the management of The Anvil Trust.

The plan includes improving disabled access and opening up the foyer area to allow it to be used for a range of events, such as open mic nights.

The work will be in addition to £150,000 released by the council's Cabinet in March to create a new box office, which will be linked to The Anvil and could replace The Anvil's own box office during the daytime.

The Cabinet will meet today to decide whether to release the money. It will then have to be given final approval by full council later this summer.

If this is granted, it is hoped that the bulk of the work will be finished by the time the theatre, which temporarily closed in January, reopens to the public.

Christine Bradwell, chief executive of The Anvil, added: "Altering the ground floor and making it a much more flexible space will give us opportunities that we do not already have, including allowing us to be able to do open mic sessions or hip hop."

When asked if a cafe will continue to operate in the Haymarket during the daytime when the venue reopens, Ms Bradwell said: "It is not the intention that there will not be.

"We cannot put out to tender our catering requirements until we know what the space is that we are asking people to cater for."

Councillor Andrew Finney, the Cabinet's economic and educational development chief, said: "It is no use putting on a really quality programme in a tired environment."

Cllr Keith Chapman, the Cabinet's sport and leisure chief, explained that the alterations, combined with a new programme of plays, could help to inspire a new generation of theatregoers.

Click here for full details of the new Haymarket season