THE future of Bromsgrove Museum appears to have finally been secured after the district council agreed to the building’s sale.

And there has been further good news as it is hoped the Birmingham Road-based heritage museum could reopen next year.

Dennis Norton gave his prized lifetime's collection of around 25,000 artefacts, known as the Norton Collection, to the council for townsfolk to enjoy in perpetuity.

But visitors to the museum fell and the council decided to close it in January 2008, citing the spiralling running costs.

Since its closure campaigners have attempted to take over the running of the Birmingham Road-based museum and reopen it to the public.

There have been false dawns, but a resolution to the long-running saga looks to be close following negotiations between the council and The Friends of the Norton Collection Charitable Trust.

At the last meeting of council’s cabinet, members voted to accept a £200,000 offer from the trust to buy the building.

Under the terms of the new agreement the trust has been given six months to raise this money. A clause has also been added so that if the building was ever used for another purpose in the future, the authority will receive half of any increase in its value.

Andrew Harris, the trust’s chairman, said: “Negotiations have been going on for a very long time, but meanwhile the building has sat empty.

“We want to raise the money as quickly as possible.

“At this stage, we aim to reopen the museum by the end of 2014.”

Although Mr Norton welcomed the progress made over the building’s sale, he said he was annoyed by events since 2008.

“In the last five-and-a-half years there has been a personal vendetta against me and the collection after they closed the museum,” he said.

“It has cost me £30,000 in legal fees to get the collection, which I originally donated to the town in 1992, back.”

Bromsgrove District Council leader Roger Hollingworth said: “There is not a personal vendetta against Mr Norton - he had the opportunity to have the collection for free but he would not waiver the rights he had, when he gave us the collection.

“A positive decision has now been made by the cabinet.

“I want it to go through, with no more hold-ups.”

Mr Norton is continuing to add to the growing collection, with 2,700 Bromsgrove Guild pictures becoming the latest addition that will go on display to the public with the rest of the artefacts, when the museum reopens.

The pictures have come from full plate negatives, which Mr Norton is donating to the collection.

One of the impressive images shows the construction of a liver bird, which today sits on a tower of the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool.

Anyone interested in donating money towards the campaign, or to offer their help fund-raising, is asked to contact the trust’s secretary, Sandra Parker, by writing to 14 Waterloo Road, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester, B50 4PJ.