Planning boost for museum reviving a derelict court

A museum has been granted planning permission to restore a derelict courthouse to use as its new home.

Wiltshire Museum in Devizes has nationally important collections, including gold found in burial sites near Stonehenge, and is currently housed in a smaller building.

It hopes to open in 2030 at the Grade II* listed Devizes Assize Court, built in 1835, which has been left derelict since the 1980s – and has now won planning permission from Wiltshire Council.

The museum and Devizes Assize Court Trust have already carried out consultations with the public and secured initial funding towards the project.

Having completed a development phase, the museum and trust will now be writing an application for funding for a delivery phase.

This will be submitted to the National Lottery Heritage Fund later this year with a decision shortly afterwards.

Planning permission approval from Wiltshire Council means the museum can now also submit funding applications to a wider range of organisations and seek support from benefactors.

Caroline Kay, who chairs Wiltshire Museum, said the approval was an "essential" step that "gives further position of confidence that this is a deliverable project for the people of Devizes, Wiltshire and beyond".

Peter Troughton, who chairs the Devizes Assize Court Trust, said the approval was "excellent news".

The court will also become a hub for the community accessible to all.

There will be a cafe, learning space, multi-use event space, gardens and new galleries – facilities that the museum's current building cannot have.

Purcell Architecture has also been working on the proposals.

Conservation associate Clare Phillips said: "This planning success is rooted in the team's collaboration with the museum and community groups."

She said the court was in a "desperately poor state".

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