Horsham District Council (HDC) has announced that a new public art gallery is scheduled to open at the town's museum on 1 April, following the success of an exhibition held last spring.

Horsham Museum will house the gallery in a Jacobean and Georgian space, which will give visitors a chance to view a collection of artwork accumulated by the museum over the past 100 years, as well as work by local artists. The attraction's craft gallery will also be enhanced to provide space for crafts, ceramics and sculpting, with work dating back up to 200 years set to be put on display alongside contemporary pieces.

A HDC spokesperson said: "The new gallery saw its genesis last spring when the museum, with the help of Washington-based Toovey's auctioneers, held a contemporary art exhibition and sale. "The popularity of the event and the very positive comments from the public, delighted that there was an opportunity at the museum to see such art, inspired the museum to create the new gallery."