by Gerry Braiden, The Herald
A public appeal to raise funds for a new museum on the banks of
the Clyde has secured £1.6m, with major obstacles delaying its
construction by almost three months now overcome.
The steel skeleton of Glasgow's Riverside Museum is currently
being erected while a full scale mock-up of a section of the iconic
attraction will be constructed within the next two months to give a
life-size idea of how it will look when completed. According to the
latest report updating the progress of the £85m transport museum,
the detailed design work on the display areas, scheduled for
fit-out in spring 2010, is now 80% complete, with the design
concept 100% finished.
However, work by archaeologists to excavate the site of the
museum in search of artefacts left by the area's first inhabitants
more than 1500 years ago failed to turn up any significant finds.
It was the more recent industrial past that caused the developer,
Glasgow City Council, most problems, with the development of the
site over the past 200 years leaving a large number of foundations
of previous buildings which had to be removed at considerable
cost.
The land also suffered from greater levels of contamination than
first anticipated, adding to the overall cost and timescale for the
project, which will replace the transport museum at Kelvin Hall.
The report, which will be presented to councillors later this week,
claims that a number of cost savings have been identified to make
up for unexpected outlay, including the secondary steel work and
ceiling and entrance lobbies.
The council insisted these savings can be made while maintaining
the quality of the building.
The museum, designed by acclaimed Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid and
scheduled to open its doors to the public in 2011, was originally
costed at £50m before rising by 50% last year and has now been
given a total "expenditure forecast" of £85m.
A shortfall of £5m, after the council and Lottery made their
contributions, is being funded by private donors, businesses and
the public.
A trust headed by Lord Smith of Kelvin and including Sir Arnold
Clark, Robbie Coltrane, Sir Tom Farmer, Sir Tom Hunter and Carol
Smillie has been tasked with finding the cash. In the first three
months after its launched last August it secured £1m but the trust
insists the donations have not gone cold, that the sum was in line
with the appeal's business plan and that the trustees were "very
satisfied with the progress to date". A spokesman for the appeal
said: "We are already well on our way to achieving our goal of
raising £5m towards what will undoubtedly be an iconic museum for
Glasgow and Scotland. There is still lots of work to be done but
the trustees led by Lord Smith are engaging with businesses,
individuals and the Scottish public to bring everyone on
board."
Benefactors so far include FirstGroup, HBOS and the Weir
Group.
Reproduced with the permission of The Herald (Glasgow) ©
Newsquest (Herald & Times) Ltd.