The front of the Bristol Hippodrome is expected to be hidden by scaffolding until the end of the month as part of £500,000 programme of repairs.

Live Nation, which runs the venue, spent about £370,000 on the venue's roof last year and now a further £110,000 is being spent repairing and improving the stonework.

Hippodrome's buildings manager Martyn Haftowski said: "We are repairing the listed stone front of the building and working on the coping stones.

"We needed to put a terrace of scaffolding up so we could get the materials up there.

"We also have scaffolding up in Denmark Street and all around the building.

"The scaffolding has now been covered with a mesh to improve its appearance and protect it from birds.

"We are on schedule to finish in eight weeks and we are hoping to get the scaffolding down from the front of the building by the end of the month but we were pushed back a week by the snow."

The St Augustine's Parade venue's manager Gary Roden said the roof work was carried out last year and in 2007 to repair water damage and make the building watertight.

He said the entrance doors at the back of the building had also been replaced.

Mr Roden said: "The levels of cash we are investing is massive and we don't get any pubic funding. The building is coming up to being 100 years old and is showing its age so we are doing everything we can to rectify that.

"We appreciate the outside looks ugly but it will only be like that for a further two- week period."

The Bristol Hippodrome opened its doors in 1912 and is an example of the grand architecture of the late Victorian era.

It was designed by Frank Matcham, the most eminent theatre architect of his time.

There is a dome in the roof above the stalls, which can be opened to reveal the sky.

The auditorium is air-cooled and the dome is rarely used, but is thought to be the only one of its type still functioning in this way in the UK. Theatre-goers at the Hippodrome were covered in pigeon droppings as they watched shows while the roof work was carried out in 2007.

The birds had found a way in through a hole in the roof but Mr Roden believes there is no chance of the problem being repeated. He said: "The reason the birds were getting in was because there was work going on at that time to fix the roof.

"Now it's all sealed and watertight so we hope that won't happen again but we can't always stop them coming through the open windows in the summer."