GLASGOW councillors have approved plans to inject a further £27 million into the refurbishment of the Burrell Collection.

A meeting of the council’s executive committee was held yesterday to discuss the funding, with £5.7m pledged already. It has been estimated that the total cost of refurbishing the museum will reach £66m, with around half of that sum to come from Glasgow City Council.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has given £15m to the project and the UK Government accounting for £5m, with a fundraising campaign aiming to contribute the rest.

Under the modernisation plans, a new roof glazing will be fitted, alongside two new floors of exhibition space so that 90 per cent of the 8000 objects in the collection can be viewed by the public.

Councillor Archie Graham, chair of Glasgow Life, said: “The refurbished museum will be one of Scotland’s finest cultural assets.”