Not the full scale project - we're still some way from having the detailed plans and funding in place for that. But important preliminary work to allow access to the roof of the building and put in place some basic temporary repairs to see us over the winter.

For two weeks across the end of November and beginning of December contractors are working to remove the years of accumulated pigeon droppings from the roof space, block the pigeon's access, disinfect the area, lay down floorboards and install lighting.

This will mean our architects can finally get up into the roof for a detailed examination of the timbers and tiles, and provide a detailed statement of works and costing. Previously we've had only estimates of the cost based on pretty imperfect access.

At the same time as the architects are finding out what is wrong, contractors will be on hand to do some temporary fixes.

The total cost of the work is likely to be around £50,000, spread across our 2010 and 2011 budgets. We hope we'll be able to recoup some of this in the form of project development grants from our supporters. But it does mean that our reserved funds (the retained profits over several years from the theatre and the bar, plus fundraising monies) have been depleted somewhat, so we will probably need to fundraise very hard in 2011 to make sure we have enough match funding to ensure the full project can go ahead.