A COMMUNITY art gallery faces an uncertain future after being told to move out of its home to make way for a new business.

The Eastgate Art Gallery has occupied a unit in the Eastgate Shopping Centre rent-free since summer 2011.

After a successful four-and-a-half years volunteers are desperately looking for another site.

A new retailer is lined up to take over the unit, in the Galleries area of the shopping centre.

Gallery curator Vin Harrop said: “Somebody has taken an interest in the premises and I think they are about to exchange contracts, so we will be moving out by Friday, January 1.

“Whether we can find a new premises or not we don’t know.

“The gallery means so much and over the last four-and-a-half years we have discovered well over 200 artists living in the Basildon community and had in excess of 300,000 people through the door.

“If it goes, it is going to leave a huge hole in the artistic community, who will have nowhere to show their art.

“The people who come in here on a daily basis have got nothing else like it.

“Eastgate gave us the unit for free and we are so grateful, but we always knew at some time or another they would get a paying occupant.”

The gallery was set up as a joint project between the Eastgate Centre, Basildon Art Trust, the borough’s heritage and arts trails and South Essex College.

It is now under the control of a community trust, which met this week to discuss the future of the gallery.

Mr Harrop believes its location within the town centre has helped spark extra interest in art.

He said: “People have come in and said they never knew Basildon had an art gallery.

“We have people who stand around outside a bit reluctantly, and we always invite them in and they normally enjoy it and end up coming back again.

“It has been a huge success and it wouldn’t have happened without the support we got from the Eastgate Centre, but they are a commercial organisation and we understand they have to make money.”

The shopping centre is set to undergo a major revamp, after Basildon Council approved plans for a cinema and four new restaurants at the top of the building.

The Echo contacted the Eastgate Centre for comment.