THE Bromsgrove Museum will reopen after eight years as the new Norton Collection Museum later this month.

The museum, which had been run by Bromsgrove District Council since 1992, was closed in January 2008, but collection owner Dennis Norton didn't give up hope of buying the building back and reopening.

Dennis formed a charitable trust which, by the end of last year, had raised sufficient funds to buy the building, and ownership was transferred to trustees earlier this year.

In the last few weeks Dennis and other supporters have worked around the clock to fix up the museum ready for opening.

The Norton Collection Museum will be officially reopened at 10am on Saturday, May 28 by Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid, and will be free for visitors to enter for the rest of the day, and will also be open Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.

Extra items have been added to the collection, exhibits have been rearranged and a new guide book is near completion.

Dennis said: "There will be things on display that have never been on display before which I think is quite exciting. Parts of the museum have been completely rebuilt - it looks absolutely magnificent."

Volunteers will help with the running of the museum, which is intended to be opened on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, from 10am to 4pm.

Dennis is now planning a major refurbishment of the entrance and the provision of extra space at the rear of the building for a major display of Bromsgrove Guild's work.

It is also hoped that opening hours will be extended as resources become available.

To volunteer or for more information, contact Dennis Norton on 01527 578676.