THE future of Swindon’s museum is being put in residents’ hands.

Swindon Museum and Art Gallery Trust wants to hear people’s ideas for where the collection should be housed. It is currently based in Old Town, but councillors and curators have expressed their keenness to move it into a purpose-built gallery.

Today’s call for suggestions follows the refusal by the Heritage Lottery Fund of a £12.7 million grant bid. Museum bosses wanted to put the cash towards a £22m new museum in Swindon’s town centre.

But the HLF rejected the bid, citing the number of grant requests, questions over the project's sustainability and online opposition to the plans. They advised the SMAG trust not to resubmit it unless the project changed.

Now, the SMAG trust and Swindon Borough Council is starting work to identify potential new sites for a new museum and art gallery building.

A previous options appraisal report considered the Mechanics Institute and the old Swindon College site on Victoria Road, but concluded the demolished Wyvern Theatre car park was the best site for a new building.

Rod Hebden, director of the SMAG trust, said they wanted to hear people’s ideas about where a new museum should be built: “It’s important to us that we get input from across Swindon, both on the ideas for location of the museum and art gallery, but also on the criteria that should be used to assess those ideas.”

“Celebrating our heritage and the story of Swindon is as important to our town’s identity and future prosperity as ever.

“HLF has advised that they cannot be a principal funder in a large new facility, so we now need to be creative and draw on the innovative nature of Swindon residents to find the best solution, which must be affordable, deliverable, sustainable and make Swindon proud.”

Swindon Borough Council, Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership and museum trustees have together pledged £6.6m to a new building. Assuming the £22m project costs remain the same, it leaves a £13.4m gap.

Sally Hawson, whose petition calling on the council to site the new museum in the Carriage Works was signed by 2,700 people, called on people to have their say: "The more people are involved we can all put our shoulder to it and make it work. But it has to be something everybody has the chance to discuss."

For more, visit www.swindonmuseum.org.uk, write to Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Bath Road, SN1 4BA or email museumandarttrust@swindon.gov.uk.