IT seems remarkable now to think that Bradford’s National Media Museum – as it was once called – faced closure as recently as 2013.

The Science Museum Group put the museum on notice that its future – and that of the National Railway Museum, in York, and the Museum of Science and Industry, in Manchester – was under review due to Government cuts.

In the end the Media Museum was saved thanks, in part, to the T&A’s ‘Stop the Cut’ campaign which mobilised public support.

Bradford Council chipped in with a £1m cash injection – matched by the Science Museum Group – and the museum rebranded to focus on science, technology, engineering and maths.

Critics wondered if this was a wise move but, with the benefit of hindsight, it was exactly the right decision.

Last year, 505,000 people visited the rebranded National Science and Media Museum. New attractions such as the multi-million-pound Wonderlab attraction, meant it enjoyed its busiest 12 months since 2009.

We haven’t agreed with all the changes – such as transferring photographic archives to London and pulling out of the Bradford International Film Festival – but they helped retain a nationally-important museum.

Post-Brexit Britain will need a strong economy built on science and engineering.

The National Science and Media Museum is helping create a new generation of engineers, programmers and scientists. We are proud to have it and look forward to many more successful years.