Museum expansion plan will allow Milton Keynes treasures to come home at last

Building of the long-awaited new galleries will start early next year, and they will display exhibits telling the story of MK from the Stone Age onwards.

Until now, many of historical artefacts excavated during the building of the new city have been hidden away in storage vaults or displayed in museums elsewhere in the country .

The battle to extend MK Museum to enable it to take these treasures has been a long one, with a major setback last year when the Heritage Lottery Fund’s committee overruled their own officers’ recommendations and declined to put more funding into the £7m project.

But Milton Keynes Council came to the rescue with £5.6 million, and there will be an £750,000 fundraising campaign.

Planning permission has now been granted to proceed and contractors Willmott Dixon have been appointed. Work should be complete by 2018.

Museum director Bill Griffiths said: “Our aims are as ambitious ever: to create a fantastic museum of which the people of Milton Keynes can be proud, which draws in people from all over the UK.”

He added: “We can finally bring the unique archaeology of this area back home to MK where it belongs.”

Milton Keynes Museum is situated in McConnell Drive, Wolverton, MK12 5EL. It is open from Wednesday to Sunday each week between 11am to 4.30pm. It’s also open on bank holidays. Call 01908 316222 for details.