The reaction to the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts has “exceeded expectation”, according to venue officials.

The arts centre in Stowmarket was officially opened with a gig by former Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson more than two months ago after the former Corn Exchange received a £1.3million renovation.

High profile artists like singer/songwriter Newton Faulkner have performed as well as a diverse mix of theatre groups and up-and-coming bands.

Board member George Monger is now responsible for the venue’s marketing, he said: “We need people to use us to keep it going. We have been encouraged by the audiences coming to us and we have shown that there’s an appetite for the place which we believed in. The calendar is getting quite full and we are quite pleased with the way it is going. We have had people contact us from all over the country to offer to come and play. We are trying to bring in good acts but we hope the people that go to gigs, when they come here, will give us some trust and see people they have not heard of before. They might get a pleasant surprise.”

He promised future music acts would cover a spectrum of young and local bands as well as national and international artists.

Currently the arts centre has 80 volunteers signed up but Mr Monger said they could always do with more help.

He said the project was not finished and they were still in need of a range of different furniture and equipment.

To find out more about the project and its events go to www.johnpeelcentreforcreativearts.co.uk