The doors of a historic Moray museum will remain closed this year and its collections moved into storage – but there remain hopes the step is only temporary.
The Falconer Museum in Forres was victim to council cuts last year as the authority looked to slash about £10 million from its budget.
The five-star attraction, which first opened its doors in the 1870s, is home to an array of items drawn from the local area and around the world.
It closed for the winter as normal in October last year but amid fears for its immediate future, though there appeared to be hope as a decision about its closure was delayed.
Now council reports have revealed the museum will remain closed to visitors this year with its collections shifted to store rooms.
But officers have said the move is part of a “transitional project” that will eventually lead to it being reopened amid plans to source fresh funding from external organisations.
Talks will take place at the council’s policy and resources committee on Tuesday about the authority’s museum service.
Chairman Aaron McLean said: “There has been great work that has gone on to try and create a new trust to run a new museum and heritage service.
“It looks to be making some good progress and a number of potential partners have come forward, including Museum Galleries Scotland, UHI and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
“It is thought that over the next two years we should have the new body in place to take forward some of the exciting opportunities that could await the museum service and its collection.”
Reni Milburn, the council’s economic growth and regeneration manager, explained the “transitional” period of closure would be used to identify and test new models for the future as well as exploring “income generation”.
Informal discussions have already been reported with funders about a £160,000 project to build on work from the Moray’s Great Places tourism project, which will be completed later this year.
Talks have also been held with local heritage groups in Cullen, Findochty and Buckie tht may enable them to display items of interest to them during the closure.
In a report, Mrs Milburn explained the future of the Falconer Museum must be “multifaceted” while also exploiting the “underused” stores and labs to a greater extent.
