This amphitheatre is part of the planned redevelopment at the Collections Centre. Courtesy the Science Museum

The National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) Collections Centre has been shortlisted for a potential £50m lottery grant.

Its proposed NMSI National Collections Centre project at the Science Museum Wroughton is one of six ambitious community projects to go through to the second stage of the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks: The People’s Millions initiative.

The projects, all aiming to transform, revitalise and regenerate their communities, will compete for a single grant of between £25-50m, and the final decision will be made by a televised vote on ITV.

Science Museum Wroughton, near Swindon, Wiltshire is sister museum to London’s Science Museum and will now receive a development grant of up to £500,000 to progress their application.

An artist's impression of the treasures inside the new centre. Courtesy the Science Museum

It proposes to open its huge reserve collection to the public within a National Collections Centre, which contains items as diverse as hovercrafts, airliners, a printing press and early computers.

“We are absolutely delighted,” said Sally Pottiphor, Head of Development at the Science Museum Wroughton. “This is a mark of real confidence in what is a very exciting project which will bring together a truly great science collection and one of the most innovative science education centres in the country.”

“The project is of great importance within the Swindon area and if we are successful will inspire a generation of future scientists,” she added.

The collection is currently held in hangars at a disused airfield and if the project wins the public vote a state-of-the-art storage building and exhibition space will be created and the museum hopes it will attract some 500,000 visitors a year.

State-of-the-art stores would replace hangars. Courtesy the Science Museum

A committee of experts from the fields of architecture, regeneration and the environment will make a decision in September 2007 on projects to go through to the public vote.

The Living Landmarks programme was launched in 2005 asking communities to offer their ideas for transforming the physical environment for everyday people. As well as the People’s Millions initiative a further 23 projects have been shortlisted to receive a small number of grants of between £10 and £25m. A total of £140m has been allocated for the different Living Landmarks programme.

The other projects competing for the People’s Millions lottery money are: Sherwood Forest: The Living Legend, Somerset’s Waterlinks, a Dry Topics Biome at the Eden Project in Cornwall, The Black Country as Urban Park project and the Bristol-based Connect2 sustainable transport initiative.

Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said: “It has been tough choosing the projects to take forward but ultimately the final say on what will becoma a multi-million pound national asset lies in the hands of the voting public – making it one of our most exciting programmes to date.