CAMPAIGNERS who want the Tymperleys Clock Museum reopened have handed a 2,000-name petition to Colchester Council.

As the council accepted the petition, Will Quince, Tory councillor for Prettygate, urged colleagues to rethink the Colchester museum’s closure.

Describing it as an integral part of the town’s heritage, he said Tymperleys attracted 8,000 visitors a year and its £26,800 annual running costs were well worth it.

Mr Quince suggested £30,000 set aside for the Tour Series cycle race would be better spent on the museum.

He added: “The race is a one-day event, which does not encourage a great deal of extra business, compared to an attraction which brings in 8,000 visitors a year.”

The museum was originally owned by a businessman and philanthropist who restored the building and gathered 216 clocks, all made in Colchester. When he died in 1981, he left the 15th-century building and the clocks to the borough.

The council is now talking to Colchester and North East Essex Building Preservation Trust about possible future uses for Tymperleys, following the museum’s closure last October. Its gardens re-opened last month.

Lyn Barton, councillor responsible for regeneration, said when the clocks were left to the council the donor did not think the Tymperleys was a suitable place for them.

She said: “We have officers looking at the display options. In the meantime, we have opened the gardens. We are making progress.”

Possible future uses for the building are as a conference or wedding venue, a restaurant, offices or as a home.