MANCHESTER'S newly-expanded City Art Gallery could see an unexpected boom in visitors when it reopens next year.

Officials are now calculating new attendance figures, thanks to the remarkable buzz in gallery-going in Britain.

Building work at the early 19th century gallery in the city centre will finish this spring, followed by 10 months work refitting and hanging collections.

But already officials are revising upwards their views on the number of visitors.

Optimism is based on the huge interest in the ''new'' gallery and the impressive increase in enthusiasm for art in Britain.

Factors which have influenced the new thinking include the success of other new British galleries - including The Lowry at Salford.

The Manchester Gallery closed in 1998 for the £25m expansion and refurbishment, and research led officials to anticipate attendance figures of more than 300,000 a year by 2005.

Now, after the success of Tate Modern in London, the new gallery at Walsall and The Lowry, Manchester, experts believe the figure could be achieved even in the first year. Gallery official Kim Gowland said: ''We have seen a huge buzz about visiting art galleries.

''Galleries are fashionable and, of course, ours is free and will be very active in the educational and family-visitor markets.''

Treasured works from Manchester, including the world-famous pre-Raphaelite collection and major works by Turner and Constable, have been on loan at galleries throughout the world pending the reopening.

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