Dundee Museum of Transport has received a major boost in its bid to establish a permanent home in the city with a £10,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The cash has been awarded by the HLF to aid the development of the museum’s plans and will be used to fund a sustainable business plan for a viable transport museum for Dundee.
Museum chairman Jimmy McDonell revealed the news of the award comes hot on the heels of the recently-opened attraction being awarded three stars by tourist agency VisitScotland.
Led solely by volunteers from thecommunity, the organisation focuses on restoring, preserving and displaying regional transport-related memorabilia and vehicles, including Dundee’s last remaining horse-drawn tram which was reclaimed from a garden in Perth earlier this year.
However, even before its hugely successful launch at the temporary premises in Market Mews in April, where thousands of people turned out to see its exhibits, the museum reported that it was already over-capacity.
The committee has been trying for over four years to buy the dilapidated former Maryfield tram depot in Forfar Road, and their bid for the premises is being considered by the building’s owners, Scottish Water.
Mr McDonell said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are confident the project will guide us further in our aim to become not only a home for transport heritage, but a sustainable, well-used visitor attraction.
“We are very fortunate to receive this grant from the HLF and it comes on the back of us being awarded three stars as a visitor attraction by VisitScotland.
“We have had lots of great support from local businesses as well and this is another feather in our cap for what we are trying to achieve.”
The funding will also allow an independent business consultant to illustrate how the museum can benefit the local economy, not just as a base for heritage restoration but as a permanent visitor attraction in the city.
Although based in Dundee, the organisation aims to represent the transport heritage of the east coast and beyond.