A popular museum showcasing Great Yarmouth's heyday as a centre for fishing and tourism could be set for a major revamp if a bid for National Lottery cash is successful.
The town's Time and Tide Museum opened in a Victorian herring curing works in 2004 and Norfolk Museums Service bosses are hoping a lottery bid will allow its upcoming 20th anniversary to be celebrated with an ambitious redevelopment.
Councillors will be asked on Friday (January 28) to back the beginning of a process to lodge a bid with the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
Museum bosses said, if the bid is successful, the project would create new spaces by sensitively adapting and glazing some of the museum courtyard space.
They said that 'reimagined' space at the heart of the museum would help meet the increasing demand from visitors and schools, while also providing space for events to bring in extra income for the museum.
Some of the existing museum galleries would be refreshed, the layout and visitor journey improved, and collections redisplayed.
Bosses said existing award-winning galleries would be upgraded in line with current historical research and best practice in heritage interpretation.
The project would also commission and incorporate new contemporary artworks created in response to the historic building and fishing industry.
The project would also cut the museum's carbon footprint, to help meet Norfolk County Council's target of a net zero carbon footprint across its estate by 2030.
Museum chiefs say better environmental and security conditions would mean the museum could attract higher profile loans and exhibitions.
The Norfolk Joint Museums Committee, made up of councillors from county, district, city and borough councils, is likely to agree that an expression of interest for the lottery cash should be drawn up.
Steve Miller, director of culture and heritage at Norfolk County Council, said: "As Time and Tide looks ahead to its 20th birthday, we want to rejuvenate this historically significant building and its nationally-important collections.
"This new reimagined space at the heart of the museum would help us to guide the museum into the next 20 years and beyond.
"We look forward to a discussion with our joint museums committee members and partners as we begin to explore these exciting options.”
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