Loughborough: Revamp planned for museum in Carillon Tower

The tower opened in 1923

A £100,000 revamp of Loughborough's landmark Carillon Tower is to be carried out.

The 101-year-old structure in Queen's Park is home to a military museum and serves as a memorial to the town's war dead.

Charnwood Borough Council said it was working with the trust that runs the museum to improve it.

The project will be paid for using a share of £4m granted to the council from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Mel Gould, chairman of the Loughborough Carillon Tower and War Memorial Museum, said: "We are hoping to improve displays along with new cabinets and more modern ways of presenting artefacts and information."

The tower has a memorial to service personnel who have lost their lives in conflict since World War One

The museum would need to close while work was carried out, he added.

Matt Bradford, the council's head of contracts, said: "The tower has been part of Loughborough for over a century and plays an important role in the town's history, commemorating those who paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for their country.

"We are pleased to have secured this significant amount of funding to develop the museum on the ground floor of the tower and I look forward seeing the project move forward."

The council said that in order to meet modern fire safety standards, public access to the top of the tower would be more restricted in future.

However it said it was examining ways to maintain some form of public access, such as through organised visits.

Work on the scheme should start later this year and is expected to be completed by Easter 2025.