After remaining vacant for a year, new life is finally being breathed into the bar formerly known as Nancy’s in Falmouth’s town centre.

The first floor of the premises in Killigrew Street, a bar/art gallery, has been open since before Christmas but work continues on the ground floor which has been stripped back to basics and completely renovated.

The aim is for the new bar to be officially unveiled in the first week of February and it promises to have a completely different vibe to its predecessor with no music and a range of Cornish wines, beers and ciders.

No:4 and Untitled, as the new business is called, will be the first venue of its kind in Falmouth, combining free gallery space with a bar selling breakfasts and pizzas.

An application for a premises licence is currently being considered by Cornwall Council and last week received the backing of Falmouth’s licensing sub-committee after James Skipworth appeared before it and outlined his proposals.

“It’s going to be schizophrenic,” he said. “Upstairs during the day there’s free gallery space and in the evenings it’s run just as a bar – quite a modern bar offering cocktails and bottled beers. There will be DJs up there two nights a week with a sound limiter set.

“Downstairs there’s going to be a very nice pub celebrating Cornish real ale, Cornish cider and Cornish produce. There will be no live music, no music at all, not even background music.”

The venture has been supported by local councillors with Steve Eva saying: “I think it’s a breath of fresh air and ask this committee to support this fresh idea for the town.”

Speaking afterwards, the bars’ general manager, Hannah Marven, said: “This is aimed at everybody. It’s a free platform for anybody in Falmouth, not necessary students and not necessarily locals.

“It will be one of the very few places around where you can link an interest in art with a strong interest in local produce. Licensed premises have to be more than just licensed premises these days.

“This is somewhere that’s not aimed at students and that’s not going to require you to take a mortgage out to buy a pint of beer. It’s a little bit quirky where you can buy local beer and if we want, learn a bit about it.” Adding that anyone wanting to make use of the free exhibition space in the Untitled gallery should pop into the bar or visit its Facebook page.