MORE than 81,000 people have visited a multi-million pound, state-of-the-art gallery on Teesside, prompting claims that people's perceptions of the area are changing.

Mima - Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art - has surpassed expectations with 80 per cent of projected annual visitor numbers achieved in its first six months of opening.

Godfrey Worsdale, mima's director, said: "We are delighted with the overwhelmingly positive feedback mima has received since opening.

"We have welcomed over 81,000 visitors to the gallery so far and with our changing exhibition programme and the range of activities and events we offer, we hope that visitors will come back again and again. We know some of our visitors have already been several times in just six months."

The 250-acre Middlehaven waterfront redevelopment on the town's old dockland is set to attract £500m investment, while "17m is to be put into plans for a creative quarter in Middlesbrough which aims to be the town's answer to Soho - dubbed BoHo.

The idea is to breathe new life into the town's Queens Square and Exchange Square area, currently home to empty office buildings.

Plans for the development of a 'Digital City' led by the University of Teesside, have already been announced.

Coun David Budd, Executive Member for Economic Regeneration and Culture, Middlesbrough Council said: "We are thrilled with the success of mima, the square and the many regeneration projects currently underway in Middlesbrough.

"I don't think that the local community really believed how investment would change the area, until they started to see it with their own eyes. This and future developments will help to recreate the ambition and aspirations so vital to the success of the Tees Valley."

Stacy Hall, Director of Communications and Tourism at One NorthEast said the organisation were "delighted by the success of regeneration taking place in Middlesbrough.'' Mima opened on January 27 with people queuing for the chance to be one of the first to see inside the new gallery which was designed by Erick van Egeraat Associates.

The inaugural exhibition 'Draw' attracting national and international media attention featured works by Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol and Gavin Turk.