The redevelopment will include new male, female and accessible toilets, a baby change facility, a fully accessible ramp to the front of the building and new wiring.

The project is being fully funded by Ararat Rural City Council.

Construction began in late October and Committee of Management secretary Ron Jenkinson said there had been no hitches so far. 

"To date it's all gone very well, but we're not finished yet," he said.

"The toilet part of the upgrade is all but complete.

"The tilers are there at the moment putting nice shiny white wall tiles from floor to ceiling. The plumbers are starting their fit-offs and the cabinetry is in. They are putting in new hand basins and taps."

The new amenities cupboard for cleaners is also nearly complete, with just the basin and drainage to be installed.

An entry ramp is also nearly complete.

"The boys have been busy out the front," Mr Jenkinson said.

"They are having to upgrade the entry with a disabled ramp at the front of the hall.

"That should be poured one day this week. They've completed the steps out the back, there's a rear entry that was dismantled to take the new work so they've rebuilt all that and it's all but finished."

The next priority is the electrical upgrades.

"The hall was built in '56, opened in '57, so it's all that old stuff - it's very brittle, very old and very unsafe," Mr Jenkinson said.

"There were no safety switches in the hall - the whole place was pretty much unprotected by today's standards."

Heavy duty power points and outlets will be installed in the supper room for caterers who want to plug in bain maries and other power-intensive equipment.

"We're going to put in 15 amp outlets in there and those will compliment the ones on the outside so we can run a cool room if we need to," Mr Jenkinson said.

"We're going to upgrade the switchboard and the sub-board on the stage for the new sound and light systems that we put in about 12 months ago."

Mr Jenkinson said bookings for the hall were already being made, even though the committee has not begun formally promoting it yet.

"There's been a bit of interest but you can't start actively promoting the place again until it's complete in case there is a hiccup," he said.

"Those who have made an inquiry or pre-booked, we've held those bookings but as soon as we're done I'll really start to promote it and let people know what's on, and hopefully people can get on board and enjoy the facility we've worked hard for."

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