Over the next 4 years, Sunbury gallery will be undertaking a significant development project which aims to greatly expand the building around the embroidery gallery exhibition and the adjacent tea room to encompass more space for various other activities.
The Sunbury Millenium Embroidery Gallery was built in July 2006 to house the Millenium Embroidery, a tapestry showing Sunbury's ascent into the 21st century, that was weaved in the late 1990s, the gallery and the surrounding walled gardens have received visits from various members of the royal family including the queen. The gallery has been received very well by the public, and the opening of a café has increased the leisure time along the Thames road by the Georgian and Victorian conserved areas.
The success of the gallery and the surrounding areas has increased the cultural life of Lower Sunbury, and the gallery has put forward plans to extend the building to include a large new guest gallery for exhibitions unrelated to the embroidery and new workshop spaces to accompany those exhibitions. In addition, an archival and study center will be added to allow better historical preservation of various documents related to the village. "This will be a great addition to an already buzzing part of the community," said Mr. Fox
The embroidery gallery itself will also be receiving an upgrade in the form of a multimedia exhibit that will educate and inform visitors on the embroidery enhancing their experience and giving context to the various elements of flora, fauna, architecture, and cultural heritage that can be seen from the embroidery.
While no works have gone underway at the time of writing, and the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly halted progress, for the time being, the development is still expected to go underway, but with possible delays in the future
