New Imperial War Museums conservation centre receives £10m funding boost

Imperial War Museums’ (IWM) new centre for conserving and preserving the largest objects in the organisation’s collections has received a £10m grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The new conservation centre and storage facility – titled IWM Lab – will be sited at IWM Duxford and is due to open in 2029. It will allow exhibition areas across the site to integrate aircraft, land vehicles and other historic objects into more displays.

With a footprint of 10,000 square metres, the energy-efficient facility will provide long-term care and preservation of large historic objects, including aircraft, tanks and other military vehicles.

When completed, the centre will also be a base to deliver technical training and heritage skills. It will also provide a new home for the museum's conservation engineering team, as well as support the next generation of specialists by expanding IWM's apprenticeship programme with a dedicated learning and skills facility.

Training will include the safe use of equipment, conservation treatments and techniques, and research to ensure objects are preserved appropriately and with historical accuracy. The facility will also enhance public access to IWM's object collection through guided tours and open days, offering visitors conservation in action.

IWM Lab aims to be an important resource for academics, historians, researchers and others interested in conservation and heritage skills.

The development of IWM Lab is part of the multi-million-pound Transforming IWM Duxford project to support the Cambridgeshire site's roles as a visitor destination, historic working airfield and centre for heritage conservation.

Arts Minister Ruth Mackenzie said: “Our huge thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies for their contribution towards a new IWM learning and skills centre, alongside up to £10m from DCMS to support an apprenticeship programme for the next generation of conservation technicians in museums.”

Caro Howell, IWM Director-General, said: “We are immensely grateful to DCMS and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Partnerships like these are vital not only to IWM's future, but to the wider work of preserving significant national collections and ensuring specialist conservation skills are passed to future generations.

"This support brings IWM Lab within reach, creating a new home for conservation, training and apprenticeships, widening access to historic objects and strengthening our ability to care for them for generations to come.

“Some of the largest objects in our collection are truly awe-inspiring and especially popular with younger visitors. IWM Lab will transform our ability to conserve and showcase them, while opening routes for young people into highly skilled and fulfilling careers in conservation and cultural heritage.”

In December 2025, three newly transformed historic rooms opened at IWM Duxford thanks to support from Bloomberg Philanthropies: the Pilots’ Briefing Room, Air Crew Room and Pilots’ Locker Room, featuring immersive recreations, newly acquired collection items and never-before-seen objects.