A PLAN to improve the city’s art gallery and museum as part of a £20 million bid to the government has been scrapped.
Worcester City Council has decided to abandon plans to renovate Worcester Art Gallery and Museum in Foregate Street as part of a multi-million-pound bid for government ‘levelling up’ money.
The council’s policy and resources committee backed the remainder of the bid, which includes millions to build a new running track and facilities at Nunnery Wood Sports Centre and a new grandstand and conference room at Worcester’s Pitchcroft Racecourse.
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The council said it has scrapped plans to include the renovation of Worcester Art Gallery and Museum in its latest ‘levelling up’ bid over fears of spiralling costs.
Bosses said they would be removing the project from its shortlist as it would require the council to buy another building and pay for ongoing costs which it says “cannot be estimated” currently.
The council said it is not giving up on the plan and will look at finding other ways to fund the work.
Cllr Pat Agar said the city needed to be as good at promoting its arts and cultural heritage as it was at promoting its sports facilities and the improvement work at the art gallery was “vital.”
“It would be lovely to see the offer of arts and cultural heritage coming up to that kind of level. It needs to do so,” she told the policy and resources committee at a meeting in the Guildhall on Monday (July 5).
“It would be very sad if we weren’t able to find a decent amount of money from elsewhere to support the changes that the art gallery needs to make.
“We genuinely could be a regional centre. We’ve recently acquired very important works of art which will bring in tourists and aficionados from around the country and possibly internationally.”
Cllr Marc Bayliss, leader of the city council, said he would like to see the work carried out despite it being left out of the bid.
“I think it’s still a viable and really good project and I hope that we can do that through our officers and the money that we have in the till.”
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