Following an endorsement from Wantage Town Council, the town’s Vale and Downland Museum is one step closer to securing £60,000 in funding from developers, which it intends to use for refurbishments.

Trustees at the museum plan to use the funds to revitalise the reception area with a new layout, which will include upgrading the café and shop and moving the reception desk to a more visible location. 

Trustees also hope the refurbishment will help attract higher footfall to the town's destination. 

Plans would also see sections of the museum moved forward into this new space, designed to encourage more visitors to venture further throughout the building and explore everything it has to offer.

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Manager of the Vale and Downland Museum Lisa Gale said: “This funding has been allocated for improving the museum and thus benefitting the community. It will be more appealing, versatile and enjoyable for everyone at the museum, from visitors to staff.

“Whilst we have carried out small improvements to date, we have been looking at doing this planned work for some time now, but it is a project involving more substantial costs.

"We are an independent museum; aside from a small stream of funding from the from town council, we must otherwise generate our own income.”

Developers from the nearby Kingsgrove and Grove Airfield developments are providing the funding through contributions under s.106 Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

These contributions can be sought towards the costs of providing (greater) community and social infrastructure, the need for which arises as a result of new developments taking place.

Trustees at the museum intend to secure the allocated funding in a two-stage process. The first would involve using a small portion of the funding to work with developers on design plans. The second would pay for the refurbishments to be carried out according to these.

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Wantage Town Council endorsed the release of the s.106 funding at their most recent meeting, with final approval now falling to Vale of White Horse District Council before it can be released to the museum. 

Ms Gale said: “Our waiting time on a decision from the district council is approximately three months respectively to secure each portion of the funding.

"We would be looking to complete the renovations during a quiet time of year and like to have everything finished by January 2025 at the latest but that’s not a definite date.”

The museum, also a registered charity, currently allows free admissions and welcomes donations from visitors.

It further serves as a community space, running events such as Dickensian evening (celebrated last Friday, December 1), with many visitors utilising the space for social and educational purposes.