Home is where the gallery is!

Plans are afoot to create a new art gallery – in a campaigner’s Ely home.

Ted Coney, who campaigned vociferously against the closure of the Babylon Gallery, which is close to his Waterside home, has applied to council planners to turn part of his own home into an exhibition space.

Mr Coney said: “It’s a cross between a gallery, a museum and an open studio, really.”

He will conduct guided tours of the 300-year-old home at weekends for a small admission fee, picking up on the seasonal riverside tourist trade.

The former head of art at Hills Road Sixth Form College conceived the idea of a gallery based on his family history and relationships for many years, but decided not to carry out the plan until he had settled in to Ely life – Mr Coney and wife Hazel moved here two years ago.

A decision is expected by the end of August, but Mr Coney said: “If I get planning permission I won’t be open until next April. I didn’t think it would be appropriate with the Babylon Gallery and The Maltings closed – what I am doing with the Ted Coney Family Project is one small part of what should be an attractive area for the arts. The important thing is to have lots of things happening – that is what attracted us here and I hope that can happen in future.”

A spokesperson for the district council said a decision on Mr Coney’s application should be made by the end of the August.