The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced its initial support for the final stage of the transformation of Leicester’s flagship museum.
Development funding of £411,111 has been awarded to Leicester City Council that will allow it to work up its latest exciting plans for Leicester Museum & Art Gallery in more detail, before it applies for a full grant of more than £5million next year.
Picture credit: Leicester City Council
Made possible thanks to National Lottery players, the funding means that the council can now develop its proposals for a scheme that would complete the refurbishment of Leicester Museum.
Plans include two brand new galleries that would focus on the people and the events that have shaped the city’s history over the past 2,000 years, new teaching spaces, and a major new environment gallery that would cover themes such as natural history and climate change.
The new gallery would mean a welcome return for some of the animals in the city’s natural history collection, with new displays and new interpretation reflecting the changes in attitude to the environment that have taken place over the last 20 years. The animals have been in storage since the Wild Space gallery closed last year.
As part of the Voices of Leicester project, an extensive activity plan would also be rolled out to engage with local communities, ensuring that those who live in the city today can help shape the museum’s exhibits and events.
Thanks to the funding, the council will now appoint design teams to develop detailed schemes for the new galleries and carry out some initial public engagement activities to help it work up its final proposals. An application to the Heritage Fund for a full grant of £5,234,445 will be submitted in spring/summer 2026, which – if successful – would fund the new galleries.
Assistant city mayor for culture Cllr Vi Dempster said: “Leicester Museum has been welcoming people for more than 175 years, but the old building has needed ongoing investment to bring it up to the standards of a modern visitor attraction.
“Over the past 10 years we’ve been upgrading the infrastructure of the building, installing new lifts and ramps, for example, to improve access to all areas of the museum – and this week, we’ve started work on a major scheme that will create a new suite of art galleries, a new shop and a brand new café.
“But this initial funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the icing on the cake.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we have the opportunity to complete the refurbishment of Leicester Museum with a project that would include two new galleries that would delve into the city’s 2,000-year history, and an important new gallery that would focus on key environmental themes, including climate change.
“We’ve called this our Voices of Leicester project because listening to what people want to see and do at Leicester Museum is so important, if the museum is to continue to be relevant to visitors from all of Leicester’s communities.
“We’re extremely grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, whose support will help us ensure that every gallery and every space at Leicester Museum offers visitors an exceptional experience, allowing us to reach even more people within Leicester and beyond.”
Robyn Llewellyn, Area Director, England, Midlands & East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We are pleased to support Leicester City Council with their ambitious plans for Leicester Museum & Art Gallery’s redevelopment. Thanks to National Lottery players this project will create new opportunities to engage Leicester’s communities with heritage and spark discussion, learning and enjoyment.”
