The British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, based at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire, has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the museum’s Collections Centre project. The £2.5m project aims to create a new building to store and display the Trust’s reserve collection of historic British cars.

Following the award of a first round pass by the Heritage Lottery Fund, development funding of £51,100 has been awarded to help the Trust progress their plans to apply for a full grant in 2012. A first-round pass is an endorsement of outline proposals and means the project meets HLF criteria for funding and they believe the project has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for lottery money. The project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award. If second round funding is awarded and match funding is also obtained, building work on the new project could begin in 2013.

The Trust has a collection of almost 300 cars, telling the story of the motor industry in Britain from the 1890s to the present and although more than 160 of these vehicles can be seen on display at the Heritage Motor Centre, the rest of the collection remains hidden in storeage. This project will enable people to see the whole collection for the first time in a purpose-built facility that will also include a vehicle restoration and conservation workshop. In addition, the Trust will launch a volunteer programme allowing people to get more involved with the collection by helping with its conservation and interpretation, and also run a series of events and activities as part of the project.

Tim Bryan, Head of Collections & Interpretation at the Heritage Motor Centre said: ‘We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has pledged their support for our project, which will help us make our collection far more accessible than before and enable people to learn more about the motor industry which has played such an important role in the West Midlands.’

The Heritage Motor Centre is home to the world’s largest historic collection of British cars. Each year it hosts an exciting and unique exhibition –  the Centre is currently hosting The Ladybird Big Book of Motor Cars until 15 January 2012, giving visitors a unique chance to see original artwork and iconic books from Ladybird’s archive. To find out more about the Centre, please visit the website at www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk