The Natural History Museum has been given planning permission from Wokingham Council to deliver a new collections, digitisation and research centre on a 9.5-acre site at the Thames Valley Science Park at Shinfield near Reading.
The move comes after the museum secured £201m in funding from the government for its Unlocked Programme, under which one-third of the museum’s items will be relocated to the park as part of a partnership with the University of Reading.
The museum holds more than 80m items, spanning 4.6m years. They are currently displayed in the museum’s buildings in South Kensington, London SW7, and Tring, Hertfordshire. The relocation will mark the museum’s largest collections move for over 140 years.
The new centre, designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, will also house science and digitisation facilities that are expected to transform the museum’s research capability, and incorporate climate control technology to ensure the long-term preservation of the collection.
Construction is due to start early 2025, with completion in 2027. The centre will be fully operational by 2031.
Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, said: “Once built, the centre will help find solutions to the planetary emergency using collections and research to answer the big questions of today, including maintaining food security, improving biodiversity and addressing climate change.”
Carter Jonas advised the museum on planning matters.
Image © Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
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