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Museum of Liverpool schedule and key dates

Artist's impression of new museum with horse and rider statue

What is the anticipated date for opening?

The building is due to be completed by the end of 2008. The fit out will be finished and the museum will be open in 2010/11.

Important milestones in the project so far

  • A groundcutting ceremony with Loyd Grossman, chairman of National Museums Liverpool, was held to mark the start of construction on the site on 30 April 2007.
  • The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) announced an earmarked grant of £11.4million to support the fit out of the museum on 25 January 2007.
  • On Tuesday 24 November 2006 UNESCO gave the all-clear to the Museum of Liverpool following a special mission to the city. The team, which included representation from UNESCO and ICOMOS, declared that the £65 million waterfront building posed no threat to the World Heritage Site.
  • In November 2006 we were delighted to announce a £1 million donation from the Garfield Weston Foundation towards the museum.
  • In July 2006 that a £5 million European grant from the Merseyside Objective One programme was being made available to the Museum of Liverpool.
  • The former Museum of Liverpool Life closed to the public on Sunday 4 June 2006, in order to allow preparation work for the new museum building to begin.
  • Earlier in the year the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) announced a grant of £32.7million to support the development of the project.
  • Liverpool City Council granted planning permission for the new museum on 20 December 2005.
  • The pre-development of the project has been joint-funded by NWDA (£2.5 million) and European Objective One Programme for Merseyside (£2.5 million).

Excavation of Manchester Dock

The museum's field archaeology unit excavated the Manchester Dock, which is beneath the site of the new museum, in early 2007. You can follow progress with the excavation and see pictures of the finds on the National Museums Liverpool blog, including the following postings:

"This is the culmination of over three years of hard work and a lot of manoeuvering and lobbying. It means we now have real project on our hands, not just a proposal. There is much still to do, and more money to raise, but the decision signals take off, not only for NML's plans for 2008, but for the whole city. I am confident we shall now be delivering a world-class new museum in an architectural masterpiece in 2008. We are very grateful the NWDA for having the foresight to back this scheme."

David Fleming, director of National Museums Liverpool, following the NWDA announcement

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