‘Deteriorating’ museum plans to secure new premises

The trustees of a museum in Worcestershire are considering plans to register a local building as an 'Asset of Community Value' to secure new premises for its collection.

Tenbury Museum has also launched a fundraising campaign for funds to aid the purchase of a nearby recently decommissioned Methodist chapel.

Trustee Tracey Morris told the Ludlow Advisor that the “deteriorating conditions” of the museum’s current site at Goffs School meant it was no longer fit for purpose.

After failing to secure alternative venues, the museum group offered the asking price on Cornerstone Chapel in February, requesting twelve months to raise the necessary funds.

However, plans for the building to be listed on the open market are moving forward.

As a result, the museum has launched a fundraising campaign to secure the chapel through a combination of National Lottery grants, existing funds, and donations from the local community. 

The group is looking at options that would allow them to put down a holding deposit and rent the buildings during their campaign.

They are also considering registering the chapel as an Asset of Community Value, which would enact a ‘community right to bid’ with a six-month moratorium to allow finances to be raised.