London Transport Museum redevelopment gets on the road

London Transport Museum (LTM) has announced plans for a £26m phased redevelopment that it hopes to complete in time for its 50th anniversary in 2030.

Last year the museum received nearly 450,000 visitors, the highest annual total since the venue opened in 1980 in a former Victorian flower market in Covent Garden. 

LTM hopes the redevelopment, which will include a new entrance, will help it attract 20% more visitors a year.

The museum will remain open throughout the redevelopment, which will include an extra 500 square metres for new galleries and learning spaces.

“We're welcoming more visitors than ever before and last year was our busiest ever,” said Elizabeth McKay, LTM's director and CEO. “Our current space actually limits what we can offer, and if we want to reach more people, tell more stories, and have a greater impact in the community, we need to be thinking long term.

“The museum here in Covent Garden turns 50 in 2030 and we want it to remain a place that isn't just preserved, but is genuinely future fit, so this programme is not optional, it’s absolutely essential.

"At its heart, this is about reimagining and upgrading this iconic Grade II-listed building, so it can do more for more people.”

The design of the revamp is being overseen by De Matos Ryan, which worked on the development of Young V&A in east London and the ongoing transformation of the Tullie museum in Carlisle.

The project will also introduce environmental upgrades, including low-carbon heating and sustainability improvements to help reduce the museum’s emissions.

Funders for the £26m project include Transport for London (TfL), which is providing £12m. TfL owns the museum although it is managed by a separate charity.

Other funders include Arts Council England, which announced it was providing nearly £1m from the Museum Estate and Development Fund earlier this year.

“The capital project is £26m, but the good news is we are more than halfway there,” said McKay. “We have primed the pump with £2m of our own reserves, and I'd like to recognise those who have helped us to reach this exciting point.”

The London Transport Museum Friends, a separate charity, is donating £300,000 between now and 2030 to support the redevelopment.

The museum was last upgraded in 2007 under its former director Sam Mullins.