Another £6.9 million is to be spent on Coventry Transport Museum to rid it of asbestos, add new exhibitions and install sprinklers to prevent fire wrecking its priceless collections.
The full council agreed the extra expenditure after hearing the alternatives could prove even more costly. Building a new museum from scratch would cost £35 million.
The stark choices were put before councillors at the full council meeting early today. They started discussing it at around 1.45am and finished, with some of it in private session, at 2.30am.
Asbestos has been found in the Icons, Blitz and Memory Lane galleries, internal stores and one of the two electrical substations in the building.
The £6.9 million will cover a range of work, due to start next month with roofing repairs and finish in March 2006 - when the whole of the museum will be open to the public, with additional displays.
Councillors have still to decide where to get the money from. Next year's capital budget is already £17.7 million short. |
