A north-east museum has been offered a “lifeline” to help it survive the financial implications of coronavirus.
The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh has received an £18,000 support package from the charity, the Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust.
This will allow the popular tourist attraction to survive the financial shock of having to close at what would have been the start of its tourist season due to the virus.
It will also enable the museum to function over the coming months as well as help staff to prepare for its eventual re-opening.
Museum manager, Lynda McGuigan, said she was”relieved” the trust had been able to provide such generous financial support.
She said: “We have a collection that is of international, national and local significance and it would be devastating if we had to close.”
Ms McGuigan said the museum “most importantly” employs “a team of vibrant and passionate people from the local area”.
She said: “We want to make sure that when all this is over the museum is ready to do what it does best, which is to attract visitors from near and far, give them a great day out and in the process provide an invaluable boost to the economy of Fraserburgh and the surrounding region.”
Chief executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board, Mike Bullock, is also “delighted” the board of trustees of the Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust has backed the Fraserburgh museum.
Mr Bullock said: “The museum is a very special place to us as it tells the story of the Northern Lighthouse Board and is dedicated to preserving the industrial and social history of Scotland’s lighthouses.
“We are immensely proud of the achievements of the museum manager, Lynda McGuigan, and her team.”
Mr Bullock said most of the museum’s staff would be put on the UK Government’s furlough job retention scheme, which pays 80% of an individual’s wages.
But he added: “Because of the need to care for the national collection, provide security checks, meet insurance requirements and most importantly prepare to reopen again, they needed to keep the posts of museum manager and collections manager working.
“That’s where the Trust was able to step in and fund that work.”
Next month marks 25 years since the museum opened its doors to the public.
A weekend filled with events was planned but has had to be cancelled.
