Hi Darrell,
Oddly I’ve been looking into this on this side of the pond as well.
Display of the collection at a private workshop is possible but once a few cockpits accumulate outside then planning permission is needed for “the storage of vintage vehicle”
If planning is permitted for a private site it comes with a “no commercial uses” proviso.
If commercial permission is sought for a museum/collection open to the public then all sorts of public building regs on access and use come into play along with traffic density estimates etc.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the way forward is to use an exsiting commecial retail/storage unit already with permission for trading uses.
This has the advantages that traffic and planning issues are established and defined.
Concept is to provide a shop area trading appropriate goods as per most museum shops with a free access collection housed in the rest of the unit.
Public access issues need to be addressed and the workshop/restoration area need to be visible but off public limits.
As to finance: the collection area costs mirror similar indoor storage that I would have to pay anyway. Shop trading area would have to cover it’s own costs and provide a small contribution towards the collection area.
A cafe would be great to include in the mix but long term viability of takings and planning issues of food prep/sales are issues. May result in letting the food area out on rent to a third party.
Just some things that I considered that may help.
Regards
Ross
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