In 2011 a small group of people came together to form a Friends group and asked the Court Hall’s owner, Swale Borough Council, if they could take on the responsibility for maintaining the building and reopen it as a museum. An architectural survey showed that a sizeable financial commitment was needed to undertake the necessary programme of restoration work but undeterred, the Friends of Milton Regis Court Hall set about formalising themselves and began negotiating with the Council for a 25-year lease.