Proposals for branch of Natural History Museum in Scotland stall

Plans to establish a new branch of the Natural History Museum in Scotland have stalled due to staffing changes at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), it has emerged.

Aberdeen City Council is considering the viability of transforming the Norco House building, a Brutalist landmark that until recently housed a John Lewis department store, into a satellite of the museum.

The store closed in December 2020 and the building was subsequently used as a Covid-19 vaccination centre. It is now up for sale for £5m and the council has been attempting to discuss the project with DCMS, which directly sponsors the Natural History Museum.

A report published by the council reveals that while “officers are looking to meet with the head of cultural development and place-based investment to discuss the proposal”, the plans “have not progressed due to changes in personnel in DCMS”.

DCMS’s previous head of cultural development moved to a new post in April and the post has not been occupied since then.