ALMOST 6,000 people have signed a petition to save a beloved art gallery in Colchester town centre in just a week.

Colchester Institute and Wilkin and Sons say they can no longer afford to run the Minories art gallery and the Tiptree Tea Room, in East Hill, due to the strain coronavirus has put on their finances and the premises will not reopen.

In response to the news, a petition was set up calling for Colchester Council’s culture boss Julie Young to do everything possible to save the gallery. As of Friday, 5,750 people had signed it.

Creator Angela Horner, 70, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, a member of Colchester Arts Society and a former director of CO3 Studios.

She said: “The Minories represents all which inspires artists and art lovers in the Colchester community to come together to enjoy art. In this respect it is unique.

“It is Colchester’s favourite art gallery. It’s loss to the community will be huge.

“We must do all we can to see this icon of Colchester reopen again - its demise will be a death knell to our thriving local art community.”

The Minories building is owned by charity the Victor Batte Lay Foundation, which was created to buy the Grade II listed premises for the purpose of an art gallery.

The foundation is actively seeking a new tenant, but with Colchester Institute’s lease not expiring until 2023, negotiations would not be straightforward.

A spokesman for the Victor Batte Lay Foundation said: “For the last year we have been working on the next chapter in the life of the Minories as a centre for the visual arts in Colchester.

“We thought we had two more years to come up with a plan and then a year to implement it. The closure of the building by Colchester Institute makes this work all the more urgent.

“We have been deeply impressed by the public support and affection for the Minories.

“We are committed to ensuring it continues to flourish as part of the Colchester arts scene.

“It may take time to come up with a viable and lasting plan which maintains and even improves on the recent gallery operation, but we are confident with so much good will from so many organisations, artists, people who value the arts and people who love the building, we will.”

Visit change.org/p/save-the-minories to sign the petition.