Uncertainty over museum reopening date

Ipswich Borough Council said an exact reopening date for the museum was not possible to say at this time.

A council has said it was unable to predict an exact date when a closed museum might reopen.

The 140-year-old Ipswich Museum has been closed since 2022 and is in the process of being renovated.

Ipswich Borough Council said it was aiming for a 2025 reopening but was unable to give an exact date.

A spokesperson said undertaking work on a Grade II listed building comes with elements that "will take longer and require more work than envisaged".

Ipswich Museum closed in October 2022 for renovation and expansion works

"Some elements will take less time and require less work – it isn’t an exact science," the council added.

Base-build construction contractors are due to come in on Monday to begin this phase of the development.

The council said this would take a year to complete.

"Other works can begin before the base-build works are fully complete, but the start date for these is as yet unknown," the council said.

"So while the project aim is to reopen Ipswich Museum in 2025, an exact date just isn’t possible to predict at this stage."

The plans had an initial budget of £8.7m which is now budgeted to cost £11.4m.

The council previously blamed inflation and supply chain disruption to have contributed to the overspend.