HUNDREDS of thousands of historic objects from the Science Museum will be stored near Wroughton in what its managing director called "the best science collection anywhere in the world".

The enormous 33,000sqm National Collections Centre will allow researchers and members of the public to get a good look at 320,000 fascinating artefacts, many of which have been kept in storage for decades. Work on the site is on track to be completed around this time next year, then the long process of bringing items from science museums around the country to be reorganised and scanned for digitisation will begin and the site is expected to open by 2023.

Science Museum Group managing director Jonathan Newby said: "We have worked around Wiltshire for 30 years and we have always been hugely committed to this site so it feels like another home. It's fantastic to bring this facility here, build on what we already have got and make it bigger and better. The scale and breadth of this is really exciting, this is one of the biggest, maybe the biggest, project the group has ever taken on."

"The extra available space and the rapid digitisation process will improve public access to our artefacts and allow us to carry out research that we struggle to do at the moment. We want this to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers."

Schools from around Swindon and Wiltshire will be able to go on trips to the site or view every item in detail online. The collection is expected to attract a lot of interest from other parts of the country - and the world.

DCMS Minister Michael Ellis MP talked about the ambitious project before getting to ride in an electric car from 1905 to visit the construction site and tour the hangar that contains a small sampling of what will be stored in the new facility.

Mr Ellis said: "I'm thrilled to be at a ground-breaking ceremony for such a groundbreaking project. The amount of work that has gone into this monumental project is truly impressive, they have done a stellar job.

"There are not many sites available around the country for a project like this and I'm very pleased that this will be in Wiltshire, it can only be a positive thing for the area and exciting times are ahead."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a single centrally-managed collection that will transform public access to a variety of fascinating items. We need to protect, cherish and nurture these objects as they are priceless and without parallel, and that takes the care and consideration and skill that the Science Museum brings to this project."

The government has provided £40 million for the museum group to complete the National Collections Centre. Dignitaries including the High Sherriff, Lord Leftenant and Mayor of Swindon attended the event and enjoyed a tour.