Oxford's world-famous Pitt Rivers Museum has been awarded a £3.7m grant to build a new research centre next to its much-visited galleries off Parks Road.

The museum, which has featured in several of Oxford author Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse novels as well as in the award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy of fellow Oxford writer Philip Pullman, will soon house all aspects of its work which are scattered over four different sites at the moment.

How the extension would look Outline planning permission for the three-storey extension, connecting with the adjoining Oxford University Museum in South Parks Road, is now being sought from the city council.

The new building is scheduled to be completed in 2006 and will enable all the museum's academic staff to be brought back on site, as well as housing a new conservation laboratory and management facilities.

Money for the project has been provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Museum director Dr Michael O'Hanlon said: "The award reflects both the museum's recent success in winning research grants, and its international importance in caring for the heritage of indigenous people all over the world.

"Once we have staff and facilities on a single site, we will be much better placed to serve the hundreds of research visitors who come to study the collections every year."

Oxford University is paying for a new lecture theatre and lecture rooms, which will be available for public use when not needed for research and teaching.

There will be lifts to all floors and the new annexe will connect with the museum's existing, much-admired Victorian displays, but leaving them untouched.

If planning permission is granted, building will start this autumn.