Museum of London move gets funding boost

The Museum of London’s plan to move to Smithfield market has moved a step closer thanks to a funding boost.

The City of London Corporation and mayor of London have pledged a total of £180m towards the £250m project.

The museum first announced its plan to move from its current location last year, citing a lack of space at its Barbican site.

A planning application will be made in 2018 and the museum hopes to open its new home to the public in 2022.

Converting the disused general market at Smithfield – next door to the meat market – would create 1,700 new jobs, the museum has said.

Asif Khan and Stanton Williams have designed a futuristic, flexible space, that is to be topped by a dome rivalling that of the British Museum. Spiral escalors form the backbone of the space – which is only the tip of the iceberg, given the huge underground chamber

It expects to spend much of the £250m binging the derelict Victorian buildings back into use. It will also give the museum a street-level entrance for the first time.

It is estimated the number of visitors to the museum could double to two million a year
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the project would be ‘a jewel in our crown’ revealing 2,000 years of London’s history while rejuvenating West Smithfield and protecting its heritage.

The new museum hopes to see visitor attendance double from one million people a year to more than two million.

The site will also allow the museum to display more of its collection of over 6 million items

(Source: BBC & CW).