Covid-19: Dorset County Museum reopening delayed

The reopening of a museum that closed two years ago for refurbishment has been delayed due to Covid-19.

Dorset County Museum said the pandemic had led to a five-month delay due to the furlough of suppliers of key materials and because fewer building staff had been able to work on site.

It also said the wait meant the cost of the £16m extension had increased.

The museum has now launched a funding appeal to raise £350,000 for the "finishing touches".

In a statement, the museum said: "Our builders have had to abide by our social distancing guidelines, meaning fewer of them could be on site at one time.

"They've struggled to get hold of key materials, and other suppliers have been furloughed, slowing down progress."

Director Jon Murdon said price inflation had also affected the revamp.

"One of the worst things we were affected by was plasterboard - that increased nine times during the pandemic," he said.

"It went from a cost of a couple of hundred pounds to a couple of thousand pounds."

The museum closed in October 2018 and is due to reopen next year.

It said there were "just the finishing touches left to buy", including racks for its collection stores and display cases, which it is appealing to the community to fund.

The extension will house new galleries to allow the museum to display more of its four million artefacts, including fossils, sculptures by Dame Elisabeth Frink, novelist Thomas Hardy's pens and Bronze Age axes.

Previously only 1.5% of its collection had been displayed. The plans also include a learning centre, library, cafe and shop.

The museum is also hoping to buy an "internationally significant" Roman mosaic found at Dewlish to stop it from being exported.

The revamp has been part-funded by an £11.3m National Heritage Lottery Fund grant.