The run-down pavilion in Warner’s Park, St Ives, is set to undergo an ambitious refurbishment costing up to £100,000.

Consultations by St Ives Town Council, which is behind the scheme, are about to start in a bid to find out what facilities residents want to see at the pavilion, which was built by public subscription as a tribute to the dead of the Second World War.

The council hopes to fund the projects through grants - and a new round of public donations. It would like to see the upgraded hall ready for use this time next year.

Town clerk Alison Benfield said: "It is a mess."

The pavilion is little used at present, but can become a key hub when big public events are held in the park.

Mrs Benfield said the idea was to bring the pavilion into wider use and it had to be restored to achieve that.

She explained that they were looking at providing an external public toilet which would be available during the day. It would be unisex and would have baby changing facilities. There would also be an internal toilet for when the building was in use.

The pavilion, which would have extensions on the front and side, could also have an open plan multi-use area, a kitchen and additional storage.

Mrs Benfield said the refurbished building could also host pop-up cafes organised by user groups.

She said the scheme could cost from £70,000 to £100,000 and that money would have to be raised to pay for it.

"It was built by subscriptions from the community for the community after the Second World War," she said. "Consultations, including a questionnaire, will start in the next few weeks and we are looking at funding the work through grants and possibly by public subscription in the way the pavilion was originally funded."

Local planner David Mead has drawn up plans for the pavilion upgrade at no charge to the council.

He showed versions of the plans to a meeting of the authority.

Mr Mead told the meeting that access to toilet facilities when the building was closed was of key importance and that the external toilet needed to be vandal-proof.

He said the scheme was still a work in progress and welcomed proposals from members.

At the meeting, Mrs Benfield expressed concern that the public toilet would be close to nearby houses and felt that the third plan showing the toilet at the front of the pavilion was preferable.

A proposed additional CCTV camera in the park would also be able to cover the public toilet if it was to the front of the building.