A key stage in the £66m revamp of one of Scotland's cultural treasures, the Burrell Collection museum in Glasgow, has been passed with full backing from the city's council.

 

A meeting of the executive committee of the council approved the next stage of the major redevelopment of the museum in Pollok Park in the city's south side.

The revamp will see the museum closed for three years, and the museum, which opened in 1983 and is A-listed, receive a new roof, new glazing, and a major internal development which will open up two extra floors to the public.

The council has now committed to the "overall funding profile and estimated costs" of the plan.

The council's Executive Committee also approved an initial £5m in capital costs to progress the first stage of project.

It is expected that the museum will close in early 2016 and reopen in 2019.

When it re-opens the museum will be able to display more than 90 per cent of the 9,000-strong collection collected by Sir William Burrell and gifted to the city in 1944.

The basement stores will be opened to the public for the first time and there will also be improved café and shop with a new "civic events space outside."

The building which houses the Burrell Collection is in urgent need of refurbishment.

Galleries have been closed because of danger of damage to objects and paintings as a result of water ingress, particularly through the roof.

The new master plan for the revamp has produced the first detailed estimated costs for the project, with the figure expected to be in the region of £60m to £66m.

The council will fund up to 50 per cent of the total cost, with the remainder split between the Heritage Lottery Fund, a fundraising campaign and grants from other public bodies.

The £66m total is £20m more than the organisers of the redevelopment,which will see the museum in Pollok Park close in 2016 and reopen in late 2019, had previously estimated.

It was previously estimated by Glasgow City Council that the revamp would cost around £45m.

The new figure for substantially upgrading the existing museum compares to the £74m cost of the Riverside Museum, a completely new building, and the £28m cost of revamping the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Councillor Archie Graham, the chair of Glasgow Life and depute leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "Sir William devoted more than 75 years of his life amassing one of the world's finest, single personal collections - and he gave it all to Glasgow.

"We have a moral duty to protect and enhance what is undoubtedly the jewel in our cultural crown by providing a newly refurbished home which is worthy of its world-class status.

"Glasgow is Scotland's cultural powerhouse and the Council's decision to support these ambitious plans, demonstrates yet again the city's commitment to our outstanding cultural heritage."

Sir Angus Grossart, the chair of Burrell Renaissance, said: "We have been working hard to open out the great potential of the Burrell Collection and place Sir William's great gift on a global stage.

"It is also of great importance that we provide a home worthy of these great treasures.

"The Council's decision is yet another, very positive, step as we carry forward the torch handed to us by Sir William and seek to place his extraordinary collection within the international context which it deserves."

Sir Peter Hutchison, who chairs the Burrell Trustees, said: "The trustees very much welcome the forthcoming refurbishment, which will transform the Burrell building and provide a fitting context for this extraordinary collection. "New gallery space will be created, a wider range of objects displayed, facilities upgraded, and any structural defects, such as the roof, remedied.

"This is a very heartening development - and one which I have no doubt would have been met with welcome approval from Sir William."

During the closure, an exhibition of objects will be on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, while a tour of items from the collection will also travel to leading galleries and museums abroad.