A PANEL of 25 businessmen, theatre group representatives, charity trustees, bankers, former councillors and fundraisers will review draft plans for the proposed £13m plus Festival Hall refurbishment and modernisation.

It is hoped East Hampshire District Council planners will give permission for the ambitious Petersfield Town Council project by the autumn.

The town council owns the building that doubles up as the Town Hall with council offices and chamber.

Council Public Halls Committee chairman John Crissey said: “The independent review panel will look at the draft proposal to give an extra layer of scrutiny.

“And then I will be pushing for another public consultation.”

Once the panel and consultation is over, work on the proposal will continue until the local council elections next May.

The elections could see the same councillors re-elected, new ones elected, or a mix of new and existing councillors returned.

Cllr Crissey, who admits initially he was ‘very’ sceptical about the hall project, said: “It will then be up the newly-elected council to take the project forward or not.

“However, I am confident it is a very good proposal.”

But the major stumbling block will be raising the money to turn the 1930s hall into a modern council base and upmarket venue with the highest energy efficient rating possible.

The council has already spent about £1m on the project. It is estimated it will cost more than £13m to complete the phased works.

Cllr Crissey added: “No, we don’t know where that money will come from yet, but at times you have to spend money to get money.

“But there is no intention of asking Petersfield residents to dip in their pockets.

“Petersfield Museum has proved that funding is out there, and by spending money on a building and plans, it attracted millions of pounds to convert the old police station into a state-of-the-art museum.”