IT'S been just over 18 months since the legendary Northern Lights was forced to close its doors and its famous occupant, Dirty Disco, was left without a home.

Since then the club night has gone on to pastures new and the Cross York Street venue, nestling in the heart of Leeds, will be reborn next week as private events space The Loft.

The new leaseholders Deborah de Vittoris and Steven Hawkins have ploughed a staggering £350,000 into getting the place up to scratch - and that's on top of the £1.3m spent by the previous bosses on creating the initial infrastructure.

"It really needed refurbished from top to bottom," said Hawkins. "It also needed very basic things installing like fridges, tills toilets, sink because alot of that had fallen into a state of disrepair when it was just a bar and a club.

"When it was Dirty Disco they ended up not really caring too much what the place looked like. It was pretty much pitch black - so much so that the staff had to find their way round with torches.

"But we've stripped everything back to the original features which are amazing because it really is a beautiful building with huge windows, lovely brickwork and a parquet floor."

Although it started out life in 1909 as the Leeds Methodist Sunday School, by the early noughties (like many old church buildings) it was merely used as a warehouse for carpets.

Under the London-based group Northern Light it gained a new lease of life in 2001 but by the time it lost its licence at the start of last year it needed reinventing once more.

After enhancing the original features they named the place The Loft since it closely resembled a giant New York-style loft apartment. But the journey from conception to execution has been a long one for Hawkins and De Vittoris.

Hawkins said: "First of all we had some objections from nearby residents who were concerned about some of the problems of having a club next door but we worked through some of those with them and the licensing authorities, trying to reassure them it wouldn't be a conventional venue.

"And then by the time we got the licence earlier this year the credit crunch started to bite and we genuinely started to wonder whether pursuing the project might not be a bad idea.

"But both Deborah and I decided to take the plunge because we have that much confidence in the place as an events space which and it's different to anything else."

The Loft is made up of three separate spaces - a small bar area with capacity for up to 200, a medium-sized bar for up to 300 and the main hall which can accommodate up to 600. They promise to cater for events ranging from 30 up to their capacity of 1,100.

All the rooms have been given a similar look which enhances the Victorian/Edwardian flourishes but adds a cool edge. Ostensibly little has changed, though it's obvious its had a new cosmetic lease of life.

And they've already got a bulging bookings book for the autumn - next week alone they have three events planned ranging from a marketing event to a Channel Four programme airing and even the 21st Birthday party of local Hollyoaks and Dancing on Ice star Chris Fountain.

The variety continues with a string of product launches, weddings and civil partnership bashes.

But do they think they can remain outstanding?

"We think so," said Hawkins. "Because there's nowhere else like it smack bang in the city centre and so close to the main area of bars and clubs - and that's one of the key markets we're targeting.

"Because many events facilities like Elland Road or the Royal Armouries might be big but they're not as central as we are nor do they have the same cool look and feel to them.

"Basically we like the idea that people will see the way we've presented the place in a similar way to the kinds of bars and restaurants they might go out in. It's very simple and minimal which means it's stylish and a bit of a blank canvas.

"And the good thing is that because Deborah already has a background in events management and we both have experience of running venues we're not just a venue for hire we're almost a one stop shop for people trying to work out what kind of event they want to stage."

The Loft opens on September 1. Visit www.loftleeds.com or call 0113 2442543.