Plans for Aston Martin museum scrapped over cost

The council said it was "extremely disappointed and annoyed" to learn plans for an Aston Martin museum have changed

A town council says it is "disappointed and annoyed" to learn that plans for an Aston Martin museum have been scrapped.

Milton Keynes City Council gave land in Newport Pagnell to the Aston Martin Heritage Trust (AMHT) in 2021 to build a museum dedicated to the luxury car brand favoured by James Bond.

AMHT said it had not been able to find a commercial partner for the project and was instead considering alternatives, such as an online virtual museum.

Newport Pagnell Town Council said: "We had anticipated that this development would be a significant boost to our local economy, and we had invested a huge amount of work in removing every barrier in the way of it coming forward."

Aston Martin cars are often associated with the James Bond film franchise

When the industrialist Sir David Brown bought Aston Martin he decided the existing factory in Feltham, Middlesex, was not big enough for his expansion plans and moved production to Newport Pagnell in 1954.

The site manufactured cars such as the DB4, DB5 and DB6 for more than half a century until 2007, before production moved to Gaydon, Warwickshire.

Aston Martin Works, which handles sales, repairs and restorations, is still open in the Buckinghamshire town.

In an email sent to Newport Town Council in December, AMHT thanked them for offering a site in the town and for their patience while the charity investigated the financial viability of the museum.

It added that while a website, podcasts and touring exhibitions would still be expensive, it was "a more realistic target than attempting to raise tens of millions of pounds for a new-build facility".

The authority will now rethink a use for the former allotment land and admitted: "It is most likely this will be for some sort of sporting or leisure use."