A NEW gallery which looks set to play a vital role in the transformation of a North-East town has received a funding boost.

Auckland Castle Trust will open the Mining Art Gallery, in partnership with the Gemini Collection of Mining Art, in Bishop Auckland Market Place, later this year.

Bishop Auckland and Shildon Area Action Partnership has confirmed it will be contributing funding to the landmark project, which will be the first gallery of its kind in the UK.

The collection’s founders, Dr Robert McManners OBE and Gillian Wales, have spent more than 20 years gathering some of the most significant and thought-provoking examples of art by miners, as well as those inspired by the industry and the communities it affected.

Councillor Joy Allen, said: The ambitious plans for the Mining Art Gallery will attract thousands of visitors to the heart of our town and provide local businesses with many new customers.”