Southwold museum given permission for exciting expansion project

The proposed extension to the Alfred Corry museum in Southwold (Image: Archant)

An application to extend the Alfred Corry Museum on Ferry Road has been approved by Waveney District Council this week - to the delight of museum volunteers.

The £35,000 project will involve extending the front of the building to allow more space for school visits and moving the boat forward, making space at the back of the museum for a permanent fisherman's cottage display area.

Chairman of the Alfred Corry Museum Trustees Jonathan Hunt said: 'The fisherman's cottage is a dream for me, it will be great.

'We have quite a lot of school visits and at the moment the children have to sit on little mats and it if rains and the wind is blowing we have to cancel.

'But now we can have doors that will keep us warm.'

The Trust has been fundraising for the project and plans to apply for grants now that they have planning permission for the work.

'We thank all the people who supported us with our planning application and our ongoing fundraising,' said Mr Hunt.

The decision to grant the museum's request for planning permission was revealed at a Waveney District Council meeting this week.

In a report, council planners described the museum as an 'established and much-visited tourism attraction' and say that the proposed extension will mean the an 18% increase in floor area on the current building.

The report also notes that the museum is 'well used by both visitors to Southwold and by local school groups', but that the existing space in the museum presents 'practical difficulties'.

Southwold Town Council had raised no objections to the museum's proposals and no public objections were received either.

The museum, which is run by volunteers, is open Monday to Friday from 10.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4.30pm and from 10.30am to 4.30pm at the weekends until October 31. Over the winter months it is open from 10am to 3.30pm on weekends when the weather is good.