A new music venue that bosses promise will host "big international names" is to take over an events centre after it mysteriously shut less than a year after opening.

The Green Room, in Earl Street, Maidstone, is now under new ownership and is set to open on December 3 after a £250,000 revamp.

Previously a Pizza Express, the venue opened as The Green Room last May but closed its doors in December.

Together with two associates, Ellis Foreshaw is now looking forward to bringing international-style partying and the "best sound system in Kent" to Maidstone.

The former events manager at The Source Bar is now creative director at The Green Room.

He said: "We’ve made sure we’ve spent the right money on getting the right things done. So it's about a quarter-of-a-million-pound project.

"The previous owners took over what used to be a Pizza Express and did everything from scratch, so it’s already kitted out to be a nightclub.

"So now it’s just a case of touching things up and making everything a little bit better than it was before."

The new nightclub will offer five dance rooms playing different genres of house and electronic music.

Ellis added: "Our main two rooms will be equipped with what will be the best sound system in Kent.

"We’re going to do a fully immersive visual experience. We’ll have massive screens where the window panels are, so it will seem as if we’re in a whole other country, or even in space, if we want to. It will create a great atmosphere.

"We have a capacity to hold more than 1,000 people.

"We do have some big headliners coming up.

"We’re talking about big international names that we’ll bring in through December and New Year’s Eve.

"We can’t disclose who they are now but we’re spending big budgets on them."

The new owners have stressed that safety is their utmost priority in order to offer a quality experience to clubbers.

"At The Green Room, we're on top of safeguarding," Ellis said.

"There's been so much spiking in the area, so we have some great things put forward for anti-spiking.

"There will be metal detectors as well as police and security presence. We want to make sure that people feel safe and are ready to come and enjoy themselves with us.

"Everyone’s feeling good and ready. I think we’re already creating quite some hype and buzz around it.

"So I think the local area is really ready for it. They’ve been missing this kind of experience."