A LARGE-scale museum refurbishment will begin next month.

The First Garden City Heritage Museum in Norton Way South, Letchworth GC, will undergo a complete revamp inside and out, with new displays and research facilities.

The Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, which owns and runs the Grade II listed building, has approved the overhaul in response to growing interest in Letchworth GC and the garden city movement.

The museum will be closed from today (Thursday). Work should be finished by July, when the museum will be relaunched as The International Garden Cities Exhibition. Among new displays will be information on Letchworth GC’s legacy and influence across the world. There are also plans to make the building more accessible, by installing a wheelchair lift and disabled toilet.

Heritage museum curator Josh Tidy said: “There has never been more interest in Letchworth Garden City and the garden city movement, both at home and abroad.

“The new displays will explore the history of Ebenezer Howard’s revolutionary idea, how it was put into practice here in Letchworth and elsewhere, and look at the legacy and influence it has had across the globe. They will really do the story justice.

“There will also be a rolling programme of temporary exhibitions celebrating the social history of the town in a number of different and exciting ways, such as in pop-up shops or site-specific displays.”