A MAJOR project to secure the future of key town venue Haslemere Hall is nearing completion.

Thanks to generous support for Haslemere Hall’s January Spend a Penny appeal for £52,000 to fund urgent work to refurbish and upgrade the toilets both front of house and back stage, the total amount has almost been raised.

Building work is now under way and due to be completed by Thursday, August 29, when audiences for Kiss Me Kate by Haslemere’s Imagine That Productions will be the first to benefit.

The total raised was swelled by customers of Haslemere Tesco, who voted Spend a Penny their favourite cause, winning it Tesco Bags of Help and a donation of £4,000.

Haslemere Hall, which has annual footfall of 50,000 visitors, is the central entertainment focus of the town, screening the latest films and national satellite broadcasts and staging local theatre and opera productions, as well as hosting meetings, lectures and classes.

The building was donated to the town by Edith Lewis Day shortly after the end of the First World War, in memory of her father Barclay Lewis Day, who had started building it in 1913.

There are currently 12 trustees, all voluntary, and they are supported by around 75 volunteers, who assist at events and with the general operation. The paid staff comprise one full-time manager and seven part-time assistants.

Manager Howard Bicknell said: “It’s a brilliant, beautiful building. Everything happens here and we are very lucky to have it.

“We need to look after it otherwise we could lose it. The hall generates an annual surplus but keeping it fit for purpose occasionally requires exceptional expenditure. Thanks to Witrose, Tesco and our brilliant customers, we are nearly there.”