Museum bid for funding gets the backing of council chiefs

Dacorum Heritage Trust is one step closer to opening a museum and art gallery dedicated to the borough.

Dacorum Borough Council’s Cabinet has put its full weight behind a bid for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The council’s cabinet agreed to fully support the application during its last meeting.

Leader of the council 
Andrew Williams said: “The Bury Museum and Art Gallery project is a major opportunity to provide new cultural facilities to celebrate not just the extensive history of Hemel Hempstead from its origins to the coming of the New Town, but also the rich and diverse heritage of the borough of Dacorum.

“We look forward to working closely with the Dacorum Heritage Trust over the coming months now the funding bid has been submitted, to help make this exciting vision become a reality.”

The aim is to refurbish, convert and equip The Bury – currently the home of the 
registry office and town MP Mike Penning’s office – to turn it into a centrepiece for the Hemel Hempstead High Street Conservation Area, complementing Gadebridge Park and linking other existing and potential attractions in the area.

The trust is delighted with the positive outcome after many months of preparation for a Phase I Heritage Lottery Fund bid to be submitted in early August.