PEOPLE have been invited to visit the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket next month to test out the refurbished venue.

The �1.3million project to revamp the Corn Exchange in Church Walk is almost complete following years of work.

Last month the centre held two days where people were able to visit and sign up to becoming a volunteer.

Now some of those same volunteers and members of the public are being invited to come back to the centre and try out its fixtures and fittings.

Chairman of the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts Andrew Stringer said that excitement was growing over the project.

He said: “Over the next few weeks we will have a few one-off days to try out the building and make sure everything is where it should be.

“There will be three of four days which will be organised.

“There have been some delays to the building work because of things outside anybody’s control.

“We want to keep the building work’s quality very high so therefore it’s taken a bit longer than we thought.”

He said the building has not had significant investment for decades and equipment inside the centre, including the sound system, would need to be tested.

The first event to be held in the refurbished centre will be an art show which is being organised for the end of February.

Mr Stringer said a few yet-to-be-named “major acts” had already committed to playing the venue in the coming months.

People have signed up to take up roles including event promotion, box office and bar work.

The John Peel Centre project received a boost late last year when more than �100,000 was raised in just two months.

To find out more about the centre go to www.johnpeelcentreforcreativearts.co.uk