A GRANT of nearly £1million has been given to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford to help with its expansion plans. The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is giving £998,000 to the £25m AirSpace project, which is nearing completion at the museum. Th

A GRANT of nearly £1million has been given to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford to help with its expansion plans. The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is giving £998,000 to the £25m AirSpace project, which is nearing completion at the museum. The grant - which takes EEDA's funding for the project to almost £2m - is for a new exhibition space with a learning centre and a conservation area, which is expected to open next year. EEDA chief executive David Marlow said: "The museum already contributes nearly £14m to the local economy. "By improving the facilities we hope it will bring further benefits to the region, including an estimated 25,000 additional visitors within its first few years of opening." - The AirSpace development will eventually display more than 30 of the rarest and most treasured military and civil British and Commonwealth aircraft.