POOLE Arts Centre closes its doors on Friday to allow the final stage of its multi-million-pound facelift to get under way.

The venue will reopen in October for the launch of the autumn/winter season, although the box office will be ready to sell BSO tickets from August 12.

Tickets for the new season will be available from the arts centre from Monday, September 2.

The redevelopment of Poole Arts Centre has taken five years from feasibility plan to completion and the end result will be a nine-space venue with room for films, theatre, concerts, exhibitions, functions and photography development.

Venue chief executive Ruth Eastwood says: "Poole will never be the same again.

"The arts centre will look and feel very different - and may even have a new name.

"As well as being the largest arts centre south of London, the new complex will be one of the most modern, most environmentally sound and most accessible in the world."

The arts centre will reopen on Saturday, October 26.