Flagship museum to close for essential works

Leicester Museum will close for 11 days

Leicester’s flagship museum is set to close to allow essential work to take place.

Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, in New Walk, is set to shut to allow initial work to take place ahead of a “major refurbishment”, Leicester City Council said.

The site will close on 5 September for 11 days, when it will partially reopen.

Planning permission is currently being considered by the local authority for a scheme that would see a new suite of art galleries created on the ground floor, as well as a new shop and improved reception area.

Proposals include a new cafe, which would have outdoor seating and be accessed from New Walk, so it could serve customers when the wider museum building was closed, the council added.

A decision on whether the scheme can go ahead is expected next month, the local authority has said.

Assistant city mayor Vi Dempster said closing an attraction was "never easy"

Assistant city mayor Vi Dempster said: "Programming major works at a popular visitor attraction is never easy, but we hope to keep as much of the museum open to the public as we can, while we update and remodel our flagship site.

"Our plans for Leicester Museum are exciting, with brand new galleries showcasing Leicester’s world-class art collection on the ground floor, improved interpretation, and much more interactive content."

The refurbishment is expected to cost £7.9m, with £766,000 being put up by Arts Council England, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The multi-million pound price tag has previously come under fire from some on the Labour-run council.

A group of opposition councillors said: "The Labour council must stop wasting public money on unnecessary projects like this proposed new cafe.

"There was a perfectly good cafe at the museum, but the council shut it down."

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