MONMOUTH Museum could be forced to move location following county council budget cuts. Its collection could also be at risk if the county was abolished by the Welsh Government.

Faced with cuts of 30 to 40 per cent to its cultural services budget, the county has appointed consultants Amion to develop a strategy for the future of its museums and attractions.

The Community Affairs Committee at Monmouth Town Council came under criticism for organising the meeting regarding the future of the museum at such short notice.

Councillor Graham Pritchard spoke of the council having "mud on its face" and of "taking the flak" for the failings of the consultants who should have been organising the consultation, not leaving it to the town council.

"It wasn't until lunchtime today that I realised it was going to be workshops and whatever. I felt totally and utterly unprepared," said Jane Gunter. "I was amazed we had someone from Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) there and we didn't even know he was coming, so where is the communication there? We should have known as a council or a committee that he was coming."

County councillor Bob Greenland, who is responsible for cultural services at MCC, told the meeting: "There is absolutely no intention of this administration of the council selling off or closing down the Nelson collection."

However, he warned that the Welsh Government wanted to reduce the number of county councils and make Monmouthshire part of a much larger administrative area. "The current MCC is committed to retaining the cultural assets that we have. That might not be the case for a much larger area," he said.

"What we want to do is to find a sustainable way of taking forward these very valuable local services and in particular the Nelson Collection because it is important for the people of Monmouth and for Monmouthshire as a whole that we should find a sustainable way forward."

Councillor Greenland said that one solution could be to form a trust – county-wide or just for Monmouth – to protect the assets and give the community the job of administering them.

The meeting turned into workshops to come up with answers to questions posed by the consultants – What role does the museum play in Monmouth life? How well does MCC "deliver" the museum? and What is the visitor experience like?

The views collected will be summarised by a working party of councillors and put on the town council website for discussion before being sent to the consultants. Members of the public can send their own feedback to the consultants at [email protected]">[email protected].

Councillor Sue Chivers asked for an assurance that the museum was going to stay where it is "because we were told many months ago that MCC wanted that building emptied to sell on". Councillor Greenland refused to do so, he said: "Part of the solution might actually be moving the collection to another building. It's all part of the mix and the consultants will listen to what all of you have to say and will then come forward with a final report and then it is up to the county council as to whether they accept that report in its entirety or not."

Barbara Wright said that to move the museum elsewhere would be a waste of money in view of the expense of bringing any new venue up to the required level of security and humidity control. Councillor Greenland replied: "That would certainly be a factor to be taken into account."

The future of the Shire Hall will be discussed at a meeting provisionally booked for 16th June.

Charles Boase