Assizes for Devizes project achieves major milestone

Wiltshire Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent for the restoration and redevelopment of the Grade II*-listed Devizes Assize Court, paving the way for it to become the new home of Wiltshire Museum and a vibrant community hub.

The project, Assizes for Devizes: Unlocking Wiltshire’s Stories, will transform the derelict 19th-century building, currently on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, into an inclusive, sustainable venue with new galleries, learning spaces, café, event areas, and gardens.

This move will enable the museum to better display its nationally significant collections, including artefacts linked to Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage sites. The new building will also be fully accessible to all visitors, and will include lifts and a Changing Places Toilet.

We have worked closely with the museum and community groups to create a design that blends conservation, sustainability, and sensitive new-build elements.

Following this planning milestone, Wiltshire Museum can now apply for wider funding, including a major bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. If successful, construction will start in 2026 with a target opening in 2030.

"We are grateful to the local planning authority for their careful consideration and approval of our comprehensive planning and listed building consent applications. This essential enabling step moves us and our supporters to a further position of confidence that this is a deliverable project for the people of Devizes, Wiltshire and beyond."

– Caroline Kay, Chair, Wiltshire Museum

“This planning success is rooted in team’s collaboration with the museum and community groups to restore the Assize Courts, which are in a desperately poor state, into a vibrant new museum teeming with community activities."

– Clare Phillips, Conservation Associate, Purcell

"This is excellent news: Wiltshire Council have seen fit to approve and support the vision of this project to relaunch Wiltshire Museum into the restored Devizes Assize Court, so long neglected, for the benefit of the town of Devizes and the county as a whole."

– Peter Troughton, Chair, Devizes Assize Court Trust

Assizes for Devizes project achieves major milestone

Wiltshire Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent for the restoration and redevelopment of the Grade II*-listed Devizes Assize Court, paving the way for it to become the new home of Wiltshire Museum and a vibrant community hub.

The project, Assizes for Devizes: Unlocking Wiltshire’s Stories, will transform the derelict 19th-century building, currently on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, into an inclusive, sustainable venue with new galleries, learning spaces, café, event areas, and gardens.

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