THE Heritage Lottery Fund has been asked for £2m towards a £3.5 scheme to improve Abingdon's museum in County Hall.

But Abingdon Town Council's original £5m scheme - which would have seen the arches glazed to create space in the outside undercroft, and a lift installed to the second floor - has been dropped following objections from English Heritage.

Trimming the budget to £3.5m, the council has conceded defeat in its battle with English Heritage - the guardians of the 17th-century building.

Under the scaled-down scheme, the lift would be sited at the rear of the building in East St Helen Street.

It would serve the basement area, but go up only as far as the main exhibition hall, known as the Sessions Hall.

The council wanted the lift to rise to the second-floor attic, so that more exhibition space could be accessible.

The idea of non-reflective glass being installed in the arches has also been dropped.

English Heritage was also unhappy with a glass and stone-built lift going to the second floor because it would be more easily seen than a structure rising only to the first floor.

It supports improvements to the main Sessions Hall, including a new floor, better ventilation and light control through the large windows that will allow the museum to borrow more special items that need protection.

Refurbishments are planned for the basement - with plans for a cafe, educational area and new toilets.

The attic floor would be improved and there would be an area for computers, a study area, a camera obscura, and improvements to the roof.

If the Lottery bid is successful, it would leave the council having to find £1.5m. It has put aside £100,000, but will need to find other revenue sources, including grants, a fundraising campaign, borrowing - and money from the council tax.

It will be the summer before the council finds out whether its Lottery bid is successful. If the grant is approved, work could start in 2009.

The chairman of the council's museums committee, Julie Mayhew-Archer, said: "The Lottery bid is the first stage of a lengthy process.

"County Hall is a listed building and we would have to go through a long planning process. The Olympic Games will take money from the Lottery, so the council has worked very hard to get its bid in on time.

"We are disappointed that we are not progressing our original scheme.

"We have not got all that we wanted and have had to compromise following opposition from English Heritage. But they have agreed to support our Lottery bid. It makes sense to work with them, so that we can develop the museum into something of which we can be proud in the future."

She added: "Our aim is to create a living building because we do not want to preside over an empty monument."