THE curtain goes up next weekend on a £500,000 facelift to a town hall.

For the first time in a year, the public are being invited inside the revitalised hall at St John's Chapel, in Weardale, to view what years of dedicated fundraising have managed to achieve.

The hall, which was once in danger of closing, now has a concert stage with balcony, a fitness room, a cinema and two sets of lavatories for disabled people.

"It is like a dream come true for a dedicated team of local people who have had the foresight to see what can be achieved here in Upper Weardale," said Joan Warriner, who is secretary of the town hall committee.

"A lot of the credit has to go to our vice-chairman Sue Tallentire, who first started fundraising more than five years ago.

"It's hoped that the town hall will become a hub for community life, not only here in the upper dale, but for the whole of Weardale and beyond."

An open weekend will be held in the town hall on Saturday and Sunday, from 1pm to 4pm, when the public will be able to see what has been achieved

The official opening of the hall will be held on June 18.

The new stage at the hall will be in use for the first time, on Wednesday May 5, when the Dream Machine dance and song group from Sunderland perform.

Tickets for this show are on sale at St John's Chapel Post Office, priced £5.