Work starts on £1.8m museum extension

Site clearance next to the century-old existing museum building in Egerton Road includes demolition of the park public toilets - which will be replaced as part of the development - and the old museum offices and study centre.

Overall costs for the project are now put at 1.8m, of which 1.3m is the construction contract.

John Betts, fund-raiser for the Society of Bexhill Museums, says building work is scheduled to take 44 weeks. The subsequent fitting-out period could take two to three months.

It is expected to take a further two to three months to set up the new exhibition galleries.

The project will bring three key local elements under one roof.

It will provide vitally-needed space for Bexhill Museum to expand and to offer new facilities for visitors.

It will allow Bexhill Costume Museum to move from its over-crowded accommodation in Manor Gardens.

And it will provide a motor heritage gallery where the town's replica of the Serpollet steam car which won the 1902 motor trials, the electric car with which St Richard's Catholic College students took a class world speed record and an example of a made-in-Bexhill Elva sports car can be displayed together.

The Lottery-funded museum project is being backed by Rother council grant aid and museum society fund-raising. A separate fund has been established for the restoration of the Mark III Elva sports-racing car.