Braintree: Ambitious new plans for the museum (From Braintree and Witham Times)

Braintree: Ambitious new plans for the museum

3:00pm Friday 21st December 2012 in News

Trustees are set to unveil ambitious plans to safeguard the future of Braintree Museum.

Plans for a “major redevelopment” of the whole of the Manor Street site mean the existing Herb Garden Cafe will be closed and replaced by a bigger cafe.

The redevelopment is expected to cost hundreds of thousands.

Braintree Council currently sets aside almost a quarter of a million pounds per year for the museum, but it is hoped it could become financially independent within a couple of years.

John McKee, chairman of the museum trust, said it the new vision for the museum would be based around natural historian John Ray.

He said: “There will be much more exciting and interactive displays to attract more visitors.

“We will be trying to raise significant sums of money, we are talking hundreds of thousands, to carry the plans out.

“We have initial funding to secure the initial phases.”

See this week's Times for the full story.