Gallery delayed for two months

The opening of the Gallery of Craft and Design, part of the revamped Manchester Art Gallery, has been delayed by two months after the load-bearing floor proved to be weaker than expected and required a redesign of the exhibition layout.

The gallery, housed in a Grade II -listed Italianate palazzo dating from 1839, is scheduled to open on 25 July. Casson Mann director Roger Mann says, ‘It’s a delicate building and we knew from the start the [fit-out] would be tricky.’