Brightlingsea Museum – which was due to open the doors of its new Station Road premises in May after two years’ work – will not be open to the public until September.

Lockdown brought plans for a grand opening of the museum, housed in the town’s former police station, to a halt and has meant that work to complete new exhibitions and facilities has proceeded slowly since.

The museum’s trustees say that while they will be able to host visits for Friends of the Museum, volunteers and sponsors in August, opening to the public cannot take place until the following month – and then only for limited hours and subject to whatever restrictions are then in place.

Planned ‘hands-on’ interactive exhibits – giving an idea of what it was like to be a fisherman or shipyard worker – may no longer be practical and the museum is seeking advice on whether these may have to be adapted or removed.

Curator and trustee Margaret Stone said: “The team at the museum working on this extensive project regrets this extensive delay to The long-awaited opening of the museum, but they feel sure everyone will understand that the health of visitors, the community and volunteers must be their prime concern.”