A tantalising glimpse of a museum project hoped to bring £8.5million to the Sudbury economy has been revealed.
The expansion plan at Gainsborough’s House, on Weavers Lane, is hoped to provide a space where the work of painter Thomas Gainsborough can be properly celebrated.
The museum and gallery still need to find another £1.5m within in the next 11 months to fund the expansion, with around £7m now pledged.
If the money is not raised in time, the project would have to be shelved, but Mark Bills, director of Gainsborough’ House, hopes the funding will come to fruition.
So far £4.5milion has been pledged by Heritage Lottery Fund, with the rest coming from trusts and an individual donor who has given £500,000.
“There is a danger that people think it is a done deal,” said Mr Bills. “We need to raise the money in the next 11 months.”
An architect for the project, the award-winning firm ZMMA, was appointed in April, with more detailed plans put on public display this month.
Mr Bills said the feedback from residents has been “overwhelmingly” positive. He said: “If the people of Sudbury did not support the project, it would not happen. We want to do something to benefit the town.”
The scheme was revealed exclusively in this newspaper last October and has the backing of high-profile celebrities including Griff Rhys Jones and American Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
The plans will see the neighbouring former labour exchange building demolished and replaced with a three-storey exhibition space with panoramic views of Gainsborough’s landscape.
“To have a celebration of Gainsborough in Sudbury, with the landscape actually in the gallery, hopefully it will get more people through the door,” Mr Bills said.
The plans will bring millions of pounds into Sudbury, according to an assessment using the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and the Archives, Libraries and Museums Alliance UK economic value calculation rules.
It will bring:
• 60 temporary full time jobs, nine permanent full time roles and 20 indirect jobs
• The gross value added from 2016/17 to 2020/21 is £8,656,684, including £5.36m in visitor impact, £1.33m in employment impact, and a spend on goods and services in the local economy of £1.02m
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