Work Starts on £2.3 Million Investment in Brentford Museum

On 9 July we received formal consent from the Heritage Lottery Fund to the start of work on the full implementation of Project Aquarius. This will allow the Kew Bridge Engines Trust to carry out a total new investment of £2.45 million (including volunteer time) in the Kew Bridge Steam Museum in Brentford

Project Aquarius will deliver major community outreach, volunteer development and education programmes building on work already being done by the Museum, together with completion of repairs to the grade I and II listed buildings, significantly improved visitor facilities and family attractions, major new displays, and complete reinterpretation of the Museum. The aim of the Project is to deliver a sustainable future for the Museum.

The Trust’s consultants Dannatt Johnson Architects and Haley Sharpe Design have now started work on the detailed planning necessary before construction contracts can be let. We currently expect construction work to start at the Museum in April 2013 and to run for six months. The Museum will operate normally at least until the end of this year and will stay open both for visitors and as a venue during the construction period, though opening is likely to be limited mainly to the weekends and bank holidays.

The Museum still has to raise some match funds but we are very grateful to Thames Water Utilities Ltd., our major development partners, who have supported the project since its inception, and to The London Borough of Hounslow, the Garfield Weston Foundation, and the Charles Hayward Foundation, who between them have contributed a large proportion of the funding required to match the very generous grant offered by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

For further information and interviews, please visit the Project Aquarius website www.kbsm.org/project-aquarius , or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for high resolution pictures if required.

Heritage Lottery Fund awards

Kew Bridge Steam Museum has received a confirmed grant of £1.845 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund for an exciting restoration project, it was announced today.

Project Aquarius will provide new and improved visitor facilities; finish outstanding repairs to the historic buildings; install additional displays, including new outdoor water based interactives; add modern interpretation; and develop new education, community outreach and volunteer development programmes. It will enable the Museum to offer a more exciting, interesting and enjoyable programme every day of the week to the widest possible audience, as well as greatly enhancing the Museum's contribution to the local community.

The Museum is the most important historic site of the water supply industry in the United Kingdom. Housed in a series of grade I and II buildings are four giant working Cornish steam pumping engines, together with a whole range of other working pumping engines and exhibits telling the story of London's water supply. The Museum attracts over 15,000 visitors a year from all over the world. It is recognised internationally as a centre of excellence for the operation of large historic machinery.

Oliver Pearcey, Chairman of the Kew Bridge Engines Trust, said "We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting Project Aquarius. It will allow us to transform the Museum for visitors, to continue to operate our unique collection of working pumping engines, and to play a much greater part in the regeneration and growth of the community in Brentford and Hounslow. We are grateful to everybody who has helped us to get to this point, especially our partners Thames Water. We will now be putting every effort into raising the remaining £186,000 match funding so that work can start".

Helen Newman, Thames Water's Head of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, said: "We are delighted that our partnership with the Museum, and the support that it has given, has enabled Project Aquarius to secure this level of Lottery funding. We look forward to working with the Museum on this exciting project."

A confirmed grant award means that money had already been earmarked by the Heritage Lottery Fund for the project in question and that the full amount has now been secured.

The Kew Bridge Engines Trust was established to restore the buildings and pumping engines of the Kew Bridge Pumping Station and to open the site to the public. It has operated the Museum for 37 years during which time it has repaired the main historic buildings, restored four of the five original pumping engines to working order, and added four more large pumping engines, many other exhibits and displays on water supply, and a narrow gauge steam railway. The Museum currently opens six days a week, with the pumping engines operating most weekends. Further details are on www.kbsm.org .

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, it invests in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported over 30,000 projects, allocating £4.7 billion across the UK. Further details are at www.hlf.org.uk .

Public Meeting of 15th February 2012 - Your Feedback

On the 15th of February 2012 we held a successful Public Consultancy Evening, where we showed our ideas, using a mixture of displays and audio visual presentation. The event proved to be a great success with over 90 people in attendence, following exstensive flyer distribution and press coverage.

Work Starts on £2.3 Million Investment in Brentford Museum

Heritage Lottery Fund awards

Public Meeting of 15th February 2012 - Your Feedback

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