A popular museum is coming to Thames Valley Science Park (TVSP) along with 27 million of its artefacts.
The Natural History Museum will establish a science and digitalisation centre after approval for an extension to the park was approved by Wokingham Borough Council.
The University of Reading, which owns and runs TVSP, said that the £180 million centre would bring ‘significant opportunities’ for academics and students.
The site will be extended along Spine Road to provide access to the new building.
The Natural History Museum will move some 27 million of its specimens to Reading – around a third of its overall collection.
This will include mammal collections and non-insect invertebrates, such as corals molluscs and worms. It will be the biggest move for the museum since the 1880s.
Museum officials said that the new space will allow for ‘greater international collaboration, big data generation, and deeper investigations into the natural world’.
The Natural History Museum covers 4.6 billion years of the planet’s history, with some 80 million items in its collection.
Dr Doug Gurr, director of the museum, said: “The university of Reading has a world-class reputation for teaching and research and there is enormous scope for collaboration on shared areas of scientific specialisms.”
However, another application for the construction of the building by the Natural History Museum is still awaiting approval.
The plans for the Natural History Museum were first announced in 2022, and are expected to be complete by 2026.
TVSP was selected as a suitable site for the museum ‘due to its proximity to London, being well connected to the motorway network and Heathrow, and the connection with the University’.
The plans signify a departure from Wokingham’s local plan, due to the park’s location in the countryside.
In a planning committee report in March, council officers argued that despite the countryside location, the ‘economic, social and environmental benefits’ delivered with the new site are considered ‘acceptable and necessary’.
