A MOCK Romano-British settlement in Upper Redesdale could be heading for a bright new future.

For plans have been lodged to turn the dilapidated Brigantium roundhouse at Rochester into an open air amphitheatre, to be used for star gazing, musical performances, and a range of community workshops.

The bold proposal comes from SCAN, the architectural student community action group at Newcastle University.

Although Rochester has a proud Roman history, there is no evidence that there was ever a roundhouse on the site behind the Carmien Cafe in the village.

However, around the turn of the Millennium, local landowner Lord Redesdale decided to build the roundhouse as an archaeological reconstruction centre including a Roman British farm, willow maze, Mesolithic hunting camp, and a Bronze age burial and stone circle.

The reconstruction centre was built on the field traditionally used for the Upper Redesdale Show, which was given just three weeks to find an alternative showfield when the scheme was launched.

Lord Redesdale studied archaeology at Newcastle University, and involved local craftsmen and and archaeology students at the university in its design.

An Iron Age roundhouse was built, based on a settlement excavated at nearby Woolaw, and at the time it was the only stone-built roundhouse in Britain.

A mixture of clay, straw and water was used to make wattle for the inside wall, which was draught-proof and reflected the heat from the central hearth.

A rocky outcrop on the site was used to demonstrate a hunter-gatherer rock shelter and also a rock one at Yardhope on the Otterburn military range.

An image of a warrior god, holding a spear and shield, was replicated.

The site also included re-constructions of an early Bronze Age burial cairn, excavated at Dour Hill in the area, cup and ring carvings, a four-poster stone circle, Roman graves, a section of cobbled Roman road, and a dowsing trail.

The facility used to be popular both with tourists and the local community, as it was close to the authentic Roman hill fort at Bremenium.

However, after only five years or so, it gradually fell into disuse, and has now fallen into such a state of disrepair that it is now unsafe to enter, and completely unusable.

The architectural students plan to restore the existing structure and its immediate site into a usable space for village activities.

There would be a timber pavilion to the north of the existing stone circle, which itself will be turned into an open-air amphitheatre style space. The existing roof will be removed and then, working with local craftsmen, any repairs required will be carried out to the drystone wall, before new seating and flooring is added.

The site will be landscaped prior to the main construction work, and this will create a secondary usable outdoor space.

An accessible route will be provided from the A68 highway to both the stone circle and pavilion, and the surface will be suitable for wheelchair users, and gates will also be wheelchair accessible

The space that will be run by the community under a booking system, so fencing will be introduced to the boundary and a gate installed to control access.

The pavilion will be made entirely of timber, with a sedum green roof.

The application will be decided by the Northumberland National Park Authority.