PLANS to create a flagship museum for the North-East took a step closer to reality last night with the announcement of an £8.75m boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Great North Museum will bring together the natural history collections and archaeological treasures housed in the Hancock Museum, Newcastle's Museum of Antiquities and Shefton Greek Museum.

Tyne and Wear Museums director Alec Coles said last night: "This is fantastic news for the region and for the museums concerned. The Hancock and the two university museums have been crying out for investment, and this decision is the key.

"The Great North Museum represents an important addition to a number of great North museums and galleries."

Heritage Lottery Fund director Carole Souter said: "Opening up and uniting this treasure trove of collections is a wonderful use of Lottery money. The new museum will enable a much deeper exploration of the past and it will be a great focus for the developing cultural quarter in Newcastle."

The £25.7m project, when completed at the site of the Hancock Museum, is expected to attract 300,000 visitors a year - ranking alongside the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, The Sage Gateshead and the Discovery Museum.

Work on the development, led by Newcastle University, is expected to begin in October next year, with the museum opening early in 2009.

It will take visitors on a journey through time to experience the region's rich natural, geological and archaeological heritage.

It will also be a showcase for the work in progress to protect the future of the planet being carried out at the neighbouring Newcastle University Institute for Research on Environmental Sustainability.

A new three-storey extension at the back of the Hancock building will house purpose-built exhibition space for "blockbuster" touring exhibitions, an education centre and an open library of the best natural and archaeological resources in the region.

The university and Newcastle City Council have each pledged £3m to the project. The announcement of the Lottery funding is also due to unlock a further £7m from the regional development agency, One NorthEast, and the European Regional Development Fund.