Museum project gets £930,000 Lottery cash

THE Heritage Lottery Fund has agreed the £931,500 bid from the Bexhill Museums Renaissance project.

The Society of Bexhill Museums in partnership with Rother District Council have been working closely with the Heritage Lottery Fund on the extension and refurbishment of the Egerton Park Road museum.

Go-ahead for the building scheme means that overcrowded Bexhill Museum of Costume and Social History can move from Manor Gardens in an extension which will also house the town's motoring heritage.

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Rother cabinet member Cllr Deirdre Williams said: "We are delighted with this news, the award is a great opportunity for us to improve facilities at Bexhill Museum for our local community and tourists alike by bringing together three unique collections under one roof. "

Tessa Hilder, Regional Manager for the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "New life will be breathed into the museum with this grant and treasures that have been stored away for years can now be brought out for people to enjoy in a dynamic and contemporary setting. The Heritage Lottery Fund is dedicated to supporting projects that open up our heritage for locals and visitors to learn about and enjoy, and the new extension to the building will be a great addition to the museum."

The proposed new building will provide new galleries, storage, office space, educational facilities and a caf overlooking the park. The application was the result of a co-ordinated team effort comprising some of the UK's leading museum specialists alongside museum volunteers and RDC officers.

The extended Bexhill Museum is conceived as the link between the Bexhill seafront and Egerton Park.

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Rother said this week that the design by award-winning architects John McAslan and Partners aims to "provide a visual connection from the street level to the park and a conceptual connection between the old and the new Bexhill, which is further emphasised by the materials chosen for the new building.

Containing a rich mix of functions within a limited space, the design of the building responds to the varied spatial requirements of its different component parts by providing a framework of flexible and adaptable spaces.

Dynamic displays, computerised access to the reserve collections and visible storage of costumes on rolling racking by internationally-acclaimed exhibition designers Richard Fowler Associates will make this museum fully interactive.

It is expected that the project will proceed to tender stage by end of February, with construction starting next Spring.

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The Society of Bexhill Museums is a charitable organisation run by volunteers, who have been working hard to achieve this project for nearly six years. However there is still a fundraising shortfall of nearly 60,000 which the Museum are looking to trusts, external funders and the community to meet.

Head of fund-raising Megan Traice said: "We wish to thank everyone for their kind contributions, we're almost there but still need the support of local people and businesses to ensure the success of this important project."

Any donations towards this fund should be forwarded to: Society of Bexhill Museums, Egerton Road, Bexhill, TN39 3HL.

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