Celebrations were held this week on the second anniversary of Beccles Public Hall being run by community volunteers.

Beccles Public Hall and theatre has been operating as a community-owned venue since February 2013.

The Public Hall was purchased by Beccles Lido Limited (BLL), a registered charity that was formed by an enthusiastic group of local individuals keen to save the Beccles open-air swimming pool.

In 2011, there was a rallying call to the community for volunteers to come forward and help save the Public Hall.

Terry Dentith and John Cushing, now two of the three directors at the hall had been involved with events and productions at the venue since the mid 1980s – they were only too willing to step forward to help secure its future as a crucial community facility.

In 2011 Terry asked the community for help: 'We are looking for a management board and people to join a Friends of the Public Hall group so that volunteers can help support and take on roles. There is a £14,000 loss a year and we have to turn that around.'

District councillor Graham Elliott was instrumental in helping to save the building as he made it a central part of his election campaign, therefore spreading the word to all the community.

There then followed a couple of years of negotiation with Waveney District Council and the hall finally became the property of BLL in 2013. Major internal renovations are planned for this August for the balcony and foyer area.

The events team, led by Sue Bergin, is currently working on the tenth what's on programme of which 5,000 are produced each quarter and are distributed to the local community and surrounding areas.

She said: 'One of the best aspects of coordinating events, is to see the audience's reactions when we offer popular events such as big band dance nights with King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys.

'However, many favourite events which have been produced by local musical groups have remained at the hall and have supported the place for many years and we hope we have achieved a good balance of entertainment.'

• Do you have memories of performances at Beccles Public Hall? Contact david.lennard@archant.co.uk