£5.2M Boost to Transform Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens

Local TV

Sunderland City Council have announced they have secured 5.2 million pounds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to transform the city its much loved Museum and Winter Gardens.

Transcript

00:00Sunderland City Council has secured £5.2 million in funding from the National Lottery

00:05Heritage Fund to revitalise the city's beloved Museum and Winter Gardens here,

00:10marking an exciting new chapter in its history. Speaking about the project, Councillor Beth Jones,

00:16Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism, shed her enthusiasm for the Museum's

00:21future and the opportunities this transformation will bring to the local people. So we're absolutely

00:26delighted to receive £5.2 million from the National Lottery Heritage Funds so this will

00:34contribute to overall £13.1 million that is going into the redevelopments of the Museum. So the Museum

00:41itself, it's been in the city since 1879 and it was one of the first civic buildings outside of London

00:47so it really has a place on the Sunderland map and has been part of people's lives for decades if not

00:54centuries now. So the Museum itself, it does have something to offer for everybody, be that

01:00artwork, heritage, maritime, science, engineering, it really is a great offer but it is time to be

01:08modernised and brought up to modern day standards. Shaped by the views of local residents and visitors,

01:14the ambitious plans include relocating the Museum's main entrance into the award-winning Melbury Park,

01:20enhancing the connection between the Museum and its surrounding green space. The redevelopment will

01:26also introduce brand new exhibition galleries and refreshed displays offering visitors a richer and

01:33more engaging experience. So for the well the Museum itself it will close in in 2026 for a period of

01:41renovation but we will have a range of activities scheduled across the whole city to get communities active

01:48and involved in in the arts and the cultures but when the city when the Museum is reborn and we

01:54expect to see it transformed there will be new offers there'll be new exhibitions on display so it

02:00really really is an exciting time. So we know that the Museum itself brings in hundreds of thousands of

02:06visitors every year be that local people who were just returning we also know people travel far and wide

02:13to come and see some of the exhibitions so we do think that the Museum itself will naturally

02:18compliment Culture House when that opens and you know create a real cultural offer for the city to

02:26be proud of. Council leader, Councillor Michael Morday also welcomed the news saying I'm delighted with

02:33being successful in our bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The last major investment in the Museum came in

02:39in 2001 also thanks to the Heritage Fund which enabled the addition of the Winter Gardens and interactive

02:45displays. The new funding is crucial for keeping our much loved Museum at the heart of family and

02:51community life while also allowing us to improve our collections and make them more accessible to both

02:57residents and visitors.

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