MUSEUMS & ATTRACTIONS IN BRIEF


New Battle of Britain centre proposed The Battle of Britain Memorial


Trust has announced plans to create a new £650,000 learning centre at Capel-le-Ferne, Kent, dedicated to Allied aircrew. Film, walkthrough displays and modern technology will be used to create a 'living history resource' as part of the proposals, unveiled to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the World War Two battle. It is hoped that the facility will be built close to the existing Hunting Lodge shop and refreshment area, with a feasibility study having already confirmed the project's viability.


£425,000 revamp for Arbroath museum Angus Council has announced that the Signal Tower Museum in Arbroath, Scotland, has closed to undergo a £425,000 revamp. Due for completion in spring 2011, the scheme will include the creation of new displays exploring the town's maritime heritage and its link with the Bell Rock Lighthouse. The Signal Tower has housed the council- run museum since 1974, having previously provided a shore base for the historic lighthouse.


Kuwaiti cash boost for Dorset tank museum The Tank Museum in Bovington,


Dorset, has received a £1.5m donation from the Kuwaiti government in a bid to recognise the role played by the Royal Armoured Corps during the Gulf War. Among the Tank Museum's collection is a Challenger 1 tank, which was one of the first to cross the Kuwaiti border from Saudi Arabia in February 1991 in the wake of Iraq's incursion into the country. The museum will now rename its outdoor tank arena – built as part of a £16.5m redevelopment completed in 2009 – as the Kuwait Arena.


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Sea City Museum contractor chosen Kier Southern revealed as council's preferred contractor for £15m development


By Pete Hayman Southampton City Council (SCC) has selected Kier Southern as its preferred contractor to construct the city's new £15m Sea City Museum. However, the final appoint-


ment of the contractor – part of the Kier Group – remains subject to the approval of SCC's cabinet at the end of August. Forming part of Southamp-


ton's wider Cultural Quarter development, Sea City Museum will be housed in a converted Grade II*-listed Magistrates' Court adjoining the Civic Centre. Two permanent galleries will


explore the city's status as a 'Gateway to the World' during the last 2,000 years and its relationship with the ill-fated liner RMS Titanic, which claimed 549 local lives. Southampton's range of


archaeological and maritime Wikinson Eyre Architects is behind the designs for the attraction


exhibits are to be put on show at the Wilkinson Eyre Archi- tects-designed attraction, which will also feature space for temporary exhibitions. The Heritage Lottery Fund


has already contributed £4.6m towards the scheme, with work expected to start on site in October. Gifford, Davis Langdon and Urban Salon are also involved with the project.


HLF boost for Wearside museum By Pete Hayman


Monkwearmouth Station Museum in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, has been handed £92,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to help fund a project to restore railway wagons and sidings. Two of the attraction's key


items – a covered carriage truck built in 1939 and a goods brake van built in 1915 – will be the focus of the scheme, with the wagons to be moved to a new purpose-built building. The provision of more


learning resources for young people also forms part of the scheme, which will open up the museum to a wider audience. Monkwearmouth Station


Museum – managed by Tyne SCC cabinet member for


leisure, culture and heritage John Hannides, said: "The appointment of Kier brings us one step closer to the realisa- tion of the Sea City Museum that will showcase Southamp- ton's maritime heritage." Sea City Museum is sched-


uled to open in 2012, coincid- ing with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking.


NMW to fight for free admission


National Museum Wales (NMW) has said that it will continue to fight to ensure that its attractions carry on offering free admission to the public, despite the recent budget cuts. Last year was nearly its best


The museum is housed within a station built in the 1840s


and Wear Archives and Museums on behalf of the local authority – is housed in a Grade II*-listed former station built in the 1840s. Ivor Crowther, head of the HLF in the North East, said:


"These carriages and the museum give us a great insight into the North East's rich travel and transport history."


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year on record, second only to its centenary in 2007. NMW director general


Michael Houlihan, said: "It's nearly a decade since the Welsh Assembly Government made a commitment to fund free entry to our seven national museums. "The recession has seen an


increase in visitors to our museums, so there is an even greater demand for our services, particularly from those people who are most affected by the economic downturn."


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