The Museum of Gloucester has produced a plan for the next five years designed to develop the venue and help its recovery from closure during the pandemic.

The plan is intended to deliver improvements at the Gloucester City Council-run museum in areas including events education and engagement.

Research into the museum's audience has helped shape the strategy which focuses on increasing the number of visitors and helping them make the most of their visit.

Aims include connecting people through shared experiences such as social or educational activities and working with the community to stage more events, exhibitions and educational sessions.

As well as ensuring the museum is sustainable, the plan commits to addressing social and environmental challenges such as Black Lives Matter, social deprivation and climate change.

There are four key priority areas:

• Collections - Preserving and interpreting the museum's collections to engage with the public.
• Public Programming - Curating an engaging and stimulating programme to educate and entertain.
• Audiences - Making sure the museum is an accessible organisation that works with the community.
• Sustainability - Ensuring the museum is sustainable and creates commercial opportunities.

Councillor Steve Morgan, cabinet member for culture and leisure, said: "This is an ambitious five-year development plan that will help our museum grow and develop, making the most of our collections.

"In a historic city like Gloucester we have a duty to ensure that we are working as hard as we can to engage visitors and to educate them about our fantastic city and I believe that the plan ensures we will be everything we can to achieve that."