Poole Museum to become 'world-class cultural centre'

Poole Museum is housed in a Grade I listed Victorian warehouse

Plans are under way to transform a museum into a "world-class cultural centre".

Poole Museum is proposing a £3.3m revamp of its Grade I listed buildings on the town's quayside.

It includes conservation work, a learning hub and new galleries aimed at attracting touring exhibitions.

Proposals are also being drawn up to improve neighbouring Scaplen's Court Museum and the area between the sites at the end of the town's High Street.

Wool Hall is one of the most important medieval port buildings in Europe

According to planning documents, three new maritime galleries will be created within Poole Museum, and Wool Hall - one of the most important medieval port buildings in Europe, currently home to Poole History Centre - will undergo major conservation work.

The museum has already been awarded £352,000 of lottery funding to develop the plans and is bidding for a further £2.2m towards the revamp, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Poole Museum Foundation is also fundraising for the project.

Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole's tourism councillor Mohan Iyengar previously said an improved museum would provide "an uplift" to the town and help "rejuvenate and enrich" the area.

The attraction is expected to host a Thomas Hardy exhibition next year before closing for improvement works and reopening in time for Easter 2024.