A grant of £90,000 has been made to Bath & North East Somerset Council to contribute towards the cost of redeveloping displays and improving access at the Roman Baths in Bath.

The Council is spending over a million pounds this year on plans to improve the site, which is a scheduled ancient monument and an international tourist attraction.

The £90,000 grant has come from the DCMS/Wolfson Fund, which was established to promote improvements in Museums and Galleries in England.

Cllr David Hawkins, Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development (Conservative, Lansdown), said: "I am delighted to learn of this award. The plans for the Roman Baths will further improve an already exciting place to visit and help to maintain its standing as a leading visitor attraction, making Bath and North East Somerset an even better place to visit."


Roman Baths Manager Stephen Clews, also said: "This is great news. In the last 12 months visitors have already started to see the first fruits of the Roman Baths development plan, including conservation and cleaning of the Great Bath, costumed interpretation and redisplay of the cold plunge pool.

"We now have the prospect of ongoing improvements over the next three years that will make the site an even more interesting and engaging place."

Work this financial year will include re-display of the ground floor terraces, visitor re-routing with improved physical access including the installation of a new lift and staircase and re-working of the introductory and lower museum displays.

For full details of the Roman Baths Development, go to: www.romanbaths.co.uk/develop

(JM)