The City of London Corporation’s Planning Applications Sub-Committee has approved a multi-million pound plan to build a new home for the Migration Museum in the heart of the City.
The museum, which is currently located in a temporary home in Lewisham, will be based across three floors of a 21-storey tower near Tower Hill.
The space will be provided rent-free for 60 years by property developer and former refugee, Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia.
In addition to the rent-free space, Ahluwalia has also pledged to cover the museum’s operating costs for three years and has donated £500,000 to support its fund-raising campaign to pay for the move.
The new development, located at 65 Crutched Friars, will include exhibition and event space, a café and shop, and rooms for more than 700 students above that.
The development will also see the creation of a new public courtyard fronting onto Northumberland Alley and a new ‘pocket park’ in Rangoon Street.
City of London Corporation Planning Applications Sub-Committee Chairman Shravan Joshi said the development will bring new life to the eastern part of the City and an economic boost to the Square Mile.
He also highlighted the significance of the Migration Museum, which celebrates diversity and inclusion.
Joshi added that the new location is a fitting home for the museum given its national significance, and that it will add to the City’s existing cultural offer and support its Destination City vision to make the Square Mile a seven-day-a-week visitor destination.
Museum CEO Sophie Henderson expressed her delight at the decision and described the new location as the “perfect fit” for the Migration Museum.
She highlighted the museum’s role in exploring how the movement of people to and from the City, London, and the UK has shaped who we all are today.
She also noted that the new location will be an inspiring venue for diverse audiences from across the City, London, and beyond to come together to explore, discuss, and reflect on key questions around migration, identity, and belonging.
Source: City of London backs multi-million pound plan for Migration Museum in heart of capital
