MULTI-million-pound plans to turn a Hampshire museum into a flagship heritage venue have been given another boost.

The award-winning St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery in Lymington has received a grant of almost £150,000 from Arts Council England (ACE), which praised the “exceptional” quality of exhibitions staged in the former school.

It comes just months after the Heritage Lottery Fund gave St Barbe £1.78 million towards the cost of the proposed new facilities.

The eagerly-awaited scheme comes with a price tag of more than £2 million and museum trustees say they still need to raise almost £100,000.

But the complex will close next week to enable work to start on the project, which includes bigger galleries, a new-look cafe and an eye-catching entrance.

Phil Gibby, area director of ACE, said: “St Barbe does an exceptional job in providing high quality exhibitions and artefacts for local people and visitors to enjoy.

“We are delighted to be investing £149,400 through our museum resilience fund to help them secure a stronger and more resilient future.”

Museum director Mark Tomlinson added: “St Barbe is indebted to Arts Council England for their support and shared belief in our ambition to become a regionally significant museum and art gallery.

“We still have £98,000 to find, so our campaign continues.”

St Barbe will close on September 10 and re-open in July next year with a major exhibition by Hampshire sculptor Geoffrey Dashwood and TV wildlife expert Chris Packham.

Plans to upgrade the museum, which attracts more than 25,000 visitors a year, were approved by New Forest District Council last June.

Don Mackenzie, representing St Barbe Trust, said: “We plan to create a cultural flagship for Lymington, the New Forest and the region as a whole.”Our tired and discouraging frontage, described by VisitEngland as looking like a doctors’ surgery, will be replaced with an attractive frontage that will enable us to generate enough income to make us viable in the future.

“We think it’s a stunning scheme that will really enhance the street scene.”

Earlier this year council’s cabinet approved plans to give St Barbe a £65,000 grant towards the cost of the work.