Fareham's New Entertainment Venue

The Council has produced a Vision that sets out the details for remodelling Ferneham Hall into a new arts and entertainment facility.

The updated venue will feature two auditoria, community rooms, a flexible studio space and would operate as a busy community arts and entertainment centre which includes daytime and evening activity, seven days a week.

Why do we need a new venue?

After nearly 40 years of service the fabric of Ferneham Hall is looking tired, dated and in need of modernisation.

The Council has maintained the building to a good standard, with investment in the roof and boilers during the last 5 years. It is clear, however, that the layout and design of the building is no longer fit for purpose.

Support for the vision

We consulted with the public, regular hirers, industry experts and potential operators during autumn 2018. There was broad support for our overall proposals for the remodelled venue.

Following analysis of the feedback we have made some changes to parts of the vision: 

• The main auditorium is to increase to around 800 seats instead of reducing it to between 400-500 seats as originally proposed.
• The secondary performance space will be more flexible to reflect its multi-use nature.
• The proposed dedicated Dance Studio will now be a Flexible Studio Space to encourage a greater range of uses.

To find out more, please read the updated Ferneham Hall Vision (3 MB)