PLANS have been submitted for a new home for Brightlingsea’s museum.

Bosses want to build a £500,000 facility to replace their current building in Duke Street.

They hope to strike a deal with Brightlingsea Town Council for a site near the community centre at the junction of Promenade Way, Station Road and Lower Park Road.

The land is currently used by Brightlingsea in Bloom for its award-winning flower displays.

Margaret Stone, curator, said its Victorian building in Duke Street, owned by the James Aldous charity, was virtually inaccessible to wheelchair users and provided space for less than half the charity’s collection.

She said: “We have got a storeroom that is full to overflowing, so we really do not have the space to display things.

“But our biggest problem is our access.”

Peter Patrick, chairman and trustee of the James Aldous charity, said: “We think a new building is important because we are not just looking for this generation or the next, but we are looking at 50 years ahead.”

Val Gilders, founder and chairman of Brightlingsea in Bloom, said she would be speaking to members to gather their views, and was waiting for the town council’s decision.

Town mayor Jayne Chapman said no decision had yet been made, and alternative sites were also being investigated.

The issue will be discussed at the town council’s meeting on Thursday.