HC Deb 09 May 1988 vol 133 cc32-3W
51. Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

To ask the Minister for the Arts what progress has been made in the redevelopment of the Imperial War museum.

Mr. Luce

On 30 March I performed the "topping out" ceremony to mark the formal completion of structural work on stage 1 of the redevelopment of the Imperial War museum's main building in Lambeth road. This £16.7 million building project, which is being financed by a partnership of arts programme funding, donations and the museum's earned income, will more than double public display space and will improve visitor facilities.

The museum has ambitious and innovative plans for fitting out the new galleries and for redisplaying its collections, for which it is seeking sponsorship to supplement its public funding. I wish it every success.

When the new galleries open in June 1989, we will have an exciting, modern museum, second to none in its field.