Million pound windfall for West Berkshire Museum
The Heritage Lottery Fund has granted the sum following a successful bid from West Berkshire Council.
A shortfall of £200,000 now remains and is hoped the newly formed fundraising group Friends of West Berkshire Museum can help shore up the gap before two years of work begins preparing the collections for display in 2014.
West Berkshire Council allocated £815,500 in its capital programme towards the total project cost of £2.26 million.
Greenham Common Trust committed £100,000 towards the shortfall and the Headley Trust also promised £40,000.
The major project involves restoration of the historic Cloth Hall and Corn Stores, creation of a new link building and visitor facilities, and complete refurbishment of all display and activity spaces.
During the redevelopment the museum has had to close until the spring of 2014.
Planning and listed building consent applications have already been approved.
The West Berkshire Council executive member for culture, Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley), said: “This is an excellent result. The redevelopment of the museum will be a real asset for West Berkshire and a great benefit to everyone in the community.
“I would like to thank the team for all their hard work over recent years to bring this success.”
The chief executive of Greenham Common Trust, Stuart Tagg, added: “Preserving the local heritage of West Berkshire for future generations is very important and the Trust is pleased to make a contribution towards bringing this valuable resource back into full use.”
Organisations and individuals can make contributions to the project through the Find Me a Grant West Berkshire website at www.findmeagrant.org.