{"id":2243249,"date":"2026-11-06T13:47:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T10:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2243249"},"modified":"2026-11-06T13:47:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T10:47:15","slug":"plans-unveiled-to-modernise-abbey-house-museum-in-leeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2243249","title":{"rendered":"Plans unveiled to modernise Abbey House Museum in Leeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/0e1b\/live\/4e97c660-d9df-11f1-bbe5-797ee05bee69.png”]<\/p>\n

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\"CreativeCreative Core\/Leeds City Council<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
An artist’s impression shows the renewed Victorian street attraction<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Plans have been unveiled to modernise a Grade II listed Leeds museum that was previously at risk of closure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall was put forward for closure during the city council’s budget proposals in 2024 – but was saved after a “passionate” response to a public consultation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Plans for the museum, which opened in 1927, include upgrades to its replica Victorian streets to include hands-on immersive experiences, and new exhibition spaces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, said the proposals marked a “bold new direction” for the museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The plans come as part of a Reimagining Project supported by Leeds City Council and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s Museum Renewal Fund.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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They have been drawn up following consultations with staff, local history groups and families.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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There are also hopes to explore the building’s centuries-old roots, such as its original role as the gatehouse of Kirkstall Abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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An exhibition is planned for 2027 to celebrate the museum’s centenary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Thousands of people signed a petition against the museum’s closure when it was initially suggested in 2024, with nearly 10,000 taking part in consultations with the council.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"CreativeCreative Core\/Leeds City Council<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The concept designs include more interactive features for guests<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Arif said: “During the public consultation on the museum’s future, what really came across was the passion and determination people have to see the site succeed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We want to channel that enthusiasm into creating an attraction which can continue to welcome visitors for many years to come.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A community information session to outline the plans will take place at the museum on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The proposals will be discussed with the community, staff and key stakeholders before a development application for external funding is submitted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Listen to highlights from <\/i>West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest <\/i>episode of Look North<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cm3ellze0w5po”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/0e1b\/live\/4e97c660-d9df-11f1-bbe5-797ee05bee69.png”] Creative Core\/Leeds City Council An artist’s impression shows the renewed Victorian street attraction Plans have been unveiled to modernise a Grade II listed Leeds museum that was previously at risk of closure. Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall was put forward for closure during the city council’s budget proposals in 2024 – but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2243249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2243249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243249\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2243249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2243249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2243249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}