MEDIAEVAL banquets could soon be commonplace in an old cinema if ambitious plans to transform it are given approval.

John and Sylvia Silver, owners of the Falcon Hotel, want to turn the disused Old Plaza Cinema in Bromyard into a venue for social and business events.

The former cinema on Pump Street has been empty for about 25 years and the Silvers bought it four years ago with the hotel. They have applied for listed building consent for a major refurbishment.

"We want to turn it into somewhere for people to have weddings, conferences and social events," said Mrs Silver.

"It has some amazing features - such as a beautiful A-frame roof that gives it a mediaeval feel - so we'd love to host mediaeval banquets in it.

"We have a conference room in the Falcon, which is very well used, but this is something different and there's nothing else like this here.

The building will need a lot of work to convert it into a conference venue and Mrs Silver described the costs of the project as "tremendous".

She said: "The amount of work that needs to be done is horrendous because the building is just a shell.

"It's a very difficult building to renovate, it's very long, large and deep - but it has wonderful features."

Mrs Silver said the venue would be run as a separate venture to the Falcon.

She hopes that community groups and organisations around town will also be able to use it.

* AN outbuilding used for storage at the back of the Falcon Hotel was destroyed by fire early Monday morning.

Firefighters believe arsonists could have been behind the fire and have called in police to investigate.