£9m scheme for museums (From Gazette & Herald)

£9m scheme for museums

A SCHEME which could see more than £9m invested in Scarborough's Rotunda and Woodend Museums has been agreed in principle by the borough authority's cabinet.

Dr Jane Mee, the head of the department, said the aim is to make the unique Rotunda Museum, overlooking the South Bay, a world centre for geology because of its links with the recognised 'father' of geology, William Smith, a Scarborough man.

A museums trust is to be set up and the scheme linked to the restoration of the Valley Gardens, she said.

Lord Derwent, of Hackness Hall, who is pioneering the Rotunda development because of his family's historic association with Smith, says he is confident that corporate sponsorship can be obtained for the project.

Dr Mee said there were high hopes that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) would be a key funder for the scheme. "The development could provide a major impetus for the regeneration of The Crescent and Museum terrace area of Scarborough by creating a cultural quarter," she said.

The council is to appoint a dedicated officer for the initiative, which will include the highly-successful Dinosaur Coast Project which has been backed by the HLF.

The cabinet has agreed to support the proposed scheme and to have a detailed business plan drawn up by experts.

Meanwhile, a grant of more than £90,000 has been given by Heritage Lottery to Scarborough's Museums and Art Gallery to develop its services to schools. It will ensure the pupils have access to their heritage by taking the museums collections to schools.

Updated: 10:59 Wednesday, July 30, 2003