Hello
Leaving the museum aside for a second, I would like to question how the local council allowed a Mercedes car dealership to build the monstrosity that is, the a large smoked glass building, right in the middle of it all! Wherever you go on the site, and even if the banking is ever fully restored, there is this great big ugly lump of smoked glass and steel building, that is totally out of keeping with its surroundings, visible from everywhere on the site.
And I ask you, what does Mercedes have to do with the home of British aviation and Motorsport. It would be just like Lotus setting up a dealership at Kitty hawk, or in the middle of the Nurburg ring??
As far as the museum goes. Every museum has a limited amount of staff and funding. A large portion of the Brooklands museum is well laid out, well presented, and cares for its exhibits to a good degree. Remember, the jumble of buildings on its site are all original, and have evolved as part of a race track and factory complex. These are not designed to look pretty, certainly from the 40’s onwards. I’m sure the museum tries every year to improve its facilities, but with some of the factory buildings and hangar, it is a constant battle to preserve these, as well as the exhibits. Some of the more recent buildings do need some tlc, but I don’t see any exhibits suffering, and they are certainly well cared for. You are correct, the ongoing significance of this site is nationally important to us.
I suggest that anyone concerned about the preservation of UK aviation/motorsport should go and lend their support directly (either financial of physical) to your local museum, as it is only through hands-on efforts that these places can be maintained.
Local councils care not one jot for our engineering heritage, be it aviation or otherwise-if there is a piece of land that they can sell for ‘developement’ megabucks, they will fall over themselves to get rid of it to the highest bidder 😡
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