Modernisation works at the Poly have been given a kickstart with a grant of £20,000 from the government's Coastal Revival Fund.

The cash will allow the organisation to start work which could eventually see full disabled access at the Grade II* listed building, built in 1835 as the home of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society.

The successful bid, submitted by the Falmouth Coastal Community Team, will allow preliminary works which could provide wheelchair access as well as allowing the renovated premises to host a wider range of events and productions.

Sue Radmore, joint chair of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society, said: "The Poly is in a pretty bad state of repair and completely inaccessible to somebody in a wheelchair. It's a bit of a nightmare."

She added: "It's very exciting for us to get that money in. We don't get any public revenue funding. The Poly Fund is important to us but not enough in itself."

The building will shut for two weeks in January for work on the toilets and a lick of paint, which is being paid out of the organisations own Poly Fund, collected through fundraising events and a levy on each ticket. At the same time, Falmouth based RTP Surveyors will carry out a survey of the building.

Sue said: "What the grant will allow us to do, based on the survey and drawings, is to get architects to give us options to sort out the structure of the building and get a quantity surveyor to price those up."

The cash will allow the team at the Poly to prepare a business plan, before looking for more funders, such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, to provide the cash for the work to be carried out.

They will look at three levels of renovation, with potential costs up to £8 million, from just adding a ramp to the building to becoming fully wheelchair accessible with lifts, as well as different options for the theatre such as pushing the seats back to allow more room for musical performances. They will also consider soundproofing to allow the main gallery above the theatre to be used for events.

Sue said: "The more space we can use, the more flexible we can be."