RAF museum receives £9m lottery boost

Some of the money will be used to build a new exhibition that will house items from the RAF collection

The Royal Air Force Museum in the Midlands has been awarded just over £9m by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The museum, at Cosford in Shropshire, will spend the money on a new exhibition space, exploring the modern history of the RAF and looking to the future.

It will also use it to create an outdoor events area with a programme of activities, and turn a 1930s hangar into a new exhibition and learning centre.

The development will be the biggest at the museum since the opening of its Cold War exhibition centre in 2007 and will focus on the RAF since 1980.

The museum said its new Collections Hub would allow a number of objects that had been in store to be displayed for the first time.

It said the RAF had a large collection, in total spanning a century, but less than 1% of it was currently accessible to the public.

Maggie Appleton, the museum CEO, said the money would allow it to tell stories in "new, ambitious and creative ways"

The hub will explore the RAF's transition to an "air, land, maritime, space and cyber defence" force.

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said the £9,286,778 funding would "unlock the doors to hidden collections, explore new perspectives on the history and future of the RAF".

A 1930s hangar will be used for teaching and new exhibitions

The redeveloped 1930s hangar will focus on teaching science, technology, engineering, geography, art and design and mathematics skills.

The new outdoor area will be used for events, teaching and relaxation, the museum said.

Money will also be spent on an outdoor public area

Sir Richard Knighton KCB ADC FREng, chief of the air staff, said the development of the RAF Museum at Cosford was "strategically important to the Royal Air Force".

He also said it was "vitally important" to be able to tell the "compelling story of our recent history".