A GALLERY devoted to a museum's centrepiece exhibit is one of a number of ideas suggested for its multi-million pound redevelopment.

Staff at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham, are hoping for another record year as work begins on a major transformation of the museum.

The biggest building project in the museum's history will be taking place throughout the year and aims to safeguard the future of the museum and bring it up to 21st Century standards.

Work has already begun on the renovation of the museum's leaking roof, which caused it to be placed on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk register.

Plans are also under way to create a series of galleries and allow more of the museum's collections to go on display.

One idea is to create a gallery which would have at its heart the museum's famous Silver Swan.

The gallery would provide a proper viewing area to allow visitors a better glimpse of the swan automaton in action, as well as information and similar exhibits from the museum's large collection.

Marketing manager Rachel Scott said: "This is the biggest programme of restoration and development in the museum's history. It's never been seen before."

The work on the roof frees up rooms on the museum's top floor, previously unusable because of leaks.

Many of the museum's 38,000 items in its collection are in storage and the developments will allow more items to become accessible. As well as the Silver Swan Gallery, plans include study rooms which would give academics and art scholars the chance to view items at close range.

There would also be improved facilities for the museum's conservators where interested groups could watch them work.

The storage area is also being improved to allow easier access for people who want to view a particular work of art.

Other plans include a gallery devoted to the museum's 100 most important items in its collection.

In the past five years, the number visitors has increased from 65,000 to 120,000.

Forthcoming exhibitions will include a Turner exhibition, which will see a watercolour of Barnard Castle returning to the town from a US museum for the first time.

For more information, call (01833) 690606 or visit www.bowesmuseum.org.uk