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Staff at Newlyn Gallery have three good reasons to celebrate this week
with the news that they have been granted £1.2 million funding from
the Lottery, £600,000 from Objective 1 and the green light from
Penwith planners to extend the gallery. Curator Liz Knowles said yesterday:
"We are all jumping about! We are ecstatic!"
The news that the gallery had been successful in its funding applications
came as Penwith's planning committee, meeting on Tuesday, recommended
approval for their plans.
They now have the go-ahead to demolish a small two-storey extension at
the Grade II Listed gallery and construct a replacement extension with
a glazed link to the main building.
Providing further funding applications are forthcoming, work on the £2.5
million project - which also includes refurbishing the Old Telephone Exchange
in Penzance - will begin in the summer and be completed in October 2005.
The proposed gallery extension will be designed to provide a link detached
pavilion to the original building.
Like the original gallery the proposed top floor of the two storey extension
will benefit from a lantern roof and a large exhibition/education room
providing 42.8m sq of open space and offering panoramic views of Mount's
Bay.
The ground floor of the extension would provide access lift, service
stairs, shop entrance, hall, reception, cafe and information area.
A basement area containing utility store, dark room and storage area
is also proposed. The extension will increase the footprint of the existing
gallery from 175 metres square to 255 metres square. The new pavilion
will employ natural indigenous materials to match the original building.
The gallery will be required to direct visiting vehicles to adequate
parking facilities off the surrounding highway network and a Green Travel
Plan to encourage cycling and bus tours for visitors to the gallery will
be set up.
article copyright © THE CORNISHMAN
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