AN ambitious plan is being mooted to transform Firstsite into Blursite.

The £28million art gallery will shut for refurbishment and maintenance in January – just over three years after it opened.

Now, the proposal is being put forward by video producer Darius Laws, who believes it would re-launch Firstsite “with a bang” in the new year.

He said the exhibition would mark 20 years since the 1995 Battle of Britpop, when Colchester band Blur famously went head to head with Manchester rivals Oasis for the number one slot when the pair released Country House and Roll With It.

The exhibition would run along the same lines as the Oasis: Chasing The Sun show, which opened in the band’s native Manchester over the summer. It chronicles the Britpop giants’ progress from 1993 to 1997.

Mr Laws, who is also a Conservative campaigner said: “The height of Britpop was in 1995 when Oasis and Blur famously battled it out for the top spot on the singles charts.

“The unique opportunity here is that Blur were formed by three Colcestrians and now we have an arts space with the capacity to host an exhibition dedicated to Blur right here in Colchester.”

He added: “Firstsite has suffered years of negative publicity and is arguably under achieving in terms of visitor numbers and its reputation within Colchester.

“The dream of attracting vast numbers of tourists and London day trippers to Firstsite simply isn’t happening.”

Mr Laws said organisers might even be able to broker a deal to swap exhibitions with the Deansgate art gallery.

He added: “On a temporary basis, Firstsite could become Blursite and if everyone signed up, we could potentially bring the world to Colchester.”