Ambitious plans for a multi-million pound Margaret Thatcher Heritage Museum are being drawn up for Grantham.
Chemical engineer Alice Brown, of Dudley Road in Grantham, has spent the last year working on the project and speaking to parties both local and national – some close to Margaret Thatcher – about her plans for an “iconic” new building in Grantham that would have 2,000sq m of floor space dedicated to the former Prime Minister.
Mrs Brown said: “This is a long-term project – five or 10 years, that kind of thing. It will be quite a significant investment in the town.
“We’re not talking about a little room. It’s a big building – a bespoke museum in the town dedicated to Margaret Thatcher; her philosophy, life, career, impact – the good and the bad.”
A board of trustees, made up entirely of Grantham people, has been formed and early plans for the building have been drawn up, even though funding and a location are still to be found.
When asked about the budget for the project, Mrs Brown said it would be in the millions but she hoped to gain funding from private investors and businesses.
She added: “I don’t think anything publicly funded is going to be viable at this stage so I’m going to see what I can get elsewhere.”
Mrs Brown’s plan is for there to be a secondary attraction to the heritage museum.
She said: “I’m completely behind Grantham Museum embracing all things Margaret Thatcher but I think what I’m envisioning is something on a bigger scale to bring in as wide an audience as possible.
“One aspect of the museum is going to be celebrating the achievements of women who have changed the world.
“It would make this museum dynamic, bring a much wider audience and would be an inspiration to younger people.”
Mrs Brown plans for the heritage museum to be housed in an “iconic” purpose-built building somewhere in the town centre.
She said: “We are talking about having a modern building. An iconic building that would catch people’s eye.”
Critics may say the project is too ambitious but Mrs Brown, who is from the United States but has lived in Grantham for nine years, said she will do her best to make it a reality.
She said;“I have had doubts. Is this going to really work? Am I biting off too much?
“But I keep coming back to, it’s worth giving it a go.
“I think Margaret Thatcher deserves the telling of her story.”
