The Allen Gallery in Alton will close for at least a year at the end of December to allow the second phase of its National Lottery-funded transformation to take place.

A grant of £1.78 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will allow the Hampshire Cultural Trust to carry out its plan to repair and enhance the historic Church Street building, make it more accessible and attractive to visitors, and maintain its internationally important ceramics collection.

A trust spokesperson said: “Following the completion of the project’s development phase in 2024, we are now under way with the delivery phase, which has two core focus areas.

“These are the continuation and further development of our community activities and engagement programme in and around Alton, plus improvements to the fabric of the Allen Gallery and its environmental sustainability.

“The latter will involve a schedule of capital works being undertaken at the gallery, which will mean a period of closure while the works are completed, and for fitting out.”

The current schedule will see the gallery close at the end of the year, with the work taking place “throughout 2026”. The re-opening date is forecast to be in “early 2027”.