£35,000 grant awarded to Transport Museum

The money was awarded to the Aston Manor Road Transport Museum from the Heritage Lottery Fund and will be used to hire a professional to look at how to encourage more visitors to go and enjoy what it has to offer in a 10-month project.

It costs £50,000 to run the museum and most of their profit comes from ticket sales.

The team will look at how to raise more money for projects involving technology and engineering to attract younger visitors and schools to enjoy the vintage vehicles.

They are also looking at recruiting more volunteers to help improve the way the museum is run and anyone who is interested has been asked to get in contact.

A collection of 45 commercial vehicles, including lorries, trucks, buses, coaches and a 1900s tram, can be found on display at to demonstrate how roads and transport in the local area have changed overtime.

Martin Fisher, Chairman of the Trust, said: “We are struggling but a lot of museums do mostly because of the cost of rent so this money will help get professional help to look at business prospects turn

"I am really pleased that we have secured this grant in 2018 which also happens to be our fortieth year.

"It’s a definite thumbs up from everyone who plays the National Lottery as when anyone buys a ticket, a proportion of this goes to fund good causes including wonderful heritage projects such as ours.

"It is really good news that this grant will help us consider the future and make some changes that will help strengthen what we can offer visitors.”

The museum used to be at the Witton Tram Shed in Birmingham, where it originally opened in 1980 and remained until 2011, but moved due to a row with the city council over rent.

The volunteer-run museum was at Beecham Business Park in Northgate, Aldridge, before relocating to Shenstone Drive where it still is today.

A series of events are being held at in the coming months including Buses By Night on February 17 between 2pm and 8pm where free rides on vintage buses will be on offer. Plus on March 27, visitors can enjoy a wide range of models of railways, boats and other vehicles between 10am and 4pm for Models in the Museum.

The museum is open every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from 10.30am to 4pm.

Anyone interested in volunteering or sponsoring a vehicle with them has been asked to contact the museum on 01922 454761 or visit their site at http://www.amrtm.org/