Shutting doors on Ludlow museum 'not an option'

Ludlow Museum Resource Centre is one of many venues facing serious implications after Shropshire Council announced it would be slashing the £800,000 museum and tourism budget to zero in 2017/18.

The building on Parkway, off Corve Street, underwent a £2 million overhaul around the turn of the millennium and now houses climate-controlled collections for the entire county, including internationally important geological samples.

But under the council's budget for the year after next, there will be no money left to support the centre, nor the new Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery.

Lottie James, chairman of the Friends of Ludlow Museum, said: "We're terribly disappointed in what the council is proposing. We believe it is a worst case scenario and they wouldn't be as short sighted as to actually close the museum resource centre.

"I think they want people to think differently about the future of museums, but we need help in doing that and we need time."

Almost a year ago, more than 150 people – including a host of eminent academics – packed into Ludlow Assembly Rooms to protest against cuts to the staffing of the museum resource centre. It came after cuts and job losses were announced over the Christmas period. This time, Mrs James said, supporters had at least been given more time to take action.

"The Friends of Ludlow Museum want to be as supportive as possible in finding a solution," she said.

"We are now planning to meet with Shropshire Council's museum service and the Friends of Shrewsbury Museum to do our best to come up with ideas and see exactly what the council is proposing.

"You can't just shut the doors and turn off the heating. There are a lot of artefacts in there that need looking after and need attention.

"Those artefacts have been given to the county in perpetuity by people on the assumption they will be looked after. Shutting the doors is not an option." She said she was optimistic there was a way forward but there would need to be some negotiation with Shropshire Council.

Also under threat from the budget cuts will be Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, near Church Stretton. The Victorian-style farm has appeared on numerous TV shows and is a well-known tourist attraction across the region, but although it is on private land, it is funded and run by Shropshire Council.

A member of staff at the farm said at the moment the tourist attraction was thriving, with new animals and a programme of courses and events for 2016.