Coronavirus: Sherborne Paddock Project gallery scrapped

Plans for a £4m art gallery have been scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic, an arts trust has said.

Sherborne's Paddock Project in Dorset was due to include three gallery spaces, a coffee shop and the town's tourist information centre.

But work on the Sherborne Arts Trust scheme had been suspended in line with lockdown measures.

The trust said the crisis had "deepened significantly" and affected the project's funding.

Dorset Council approved the plans for land off Newland last June.

The trust said: "The pandemic crisis has deepened significantly and it is against this background that our benefactor has judged the Paddock Project can no longer proceed as planned, a conclusion which the trustees of the Sherborne Arts Trust regrettably accept."

It added: "It is clear that assumptions about funding and operation that were central to the Paddock business plan can no longer be relied upon."

The trust said it hoped "something can be recovered" but admitted any revised project "will not be on the same scale as the current design".

Concerns previously raised during a public consultation about the approved scheme included increased traffic and parking issues.

However, those who supported the application described it as an "asset" to the town.