FUNDING from East Hampshire District Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) has bought the redevelopment of Alton’s Allen Gallery one step closer to realisation.

£450,000 has been given to continue work on the building.

Hampshire Cultural Trust (HCT), which manages the gallery, is 10 months into the first phase of a major project, supported by funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to reimagine and redevelop the gallery for the community.

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During this first development phase, the focus has been on the rediscovery of the collection of nationally and internationally important ceramics that is held both at the gallery and at HCT’s central storage facility in Winchester. To date, research has been undertaken on more than 3,800 ceramics, unearthing their wealth of stories and discovering themes that connect them, such as tea drinking, comedy and ornamental.

Also integral to the first phase, have been the development and design of architectural plans to remodel the galley so that the newly researched ceramics can be showcased to better effect and to allow them to be accessible to all visitors. Plans for the gallery also include the creation of a dedicated community space.

Full refurbishment of the gallery is the second phase of the project, and this CIL funding, which is raised from developers that build homes in the district and then distributed to support infrastructure projects in the area, is a step towards the realisation of these plans.

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Deborah Neubauer, Director of Community and Impact at Hampshire Cultural Trust, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have received this very significant CIL funding from East Hampshire District Council.

“The redevelopment of the Allen Gallery is a major project for Hampshire Cultural Trust and when completed, we envision that the revitalised Allen Gallery will make a huge contribution to the culture, economy and life of Alton.

“However, while this funding is without doubt a big step forward, we still have quite a way to go to secure all the funding that we need. We have just launched a community fundraising campaign, where we are asking supporters and visitors to donate a unique, handmade ceramic to raise funds, and in November, we will be submitting a second application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a further grant towards the full refurbishment so that we can transform the Allen Gallery into the very special place that we know it can be.”