Crisis talks to save future of the Falconer Museum

A CRISIS meeting has been called to discuss the future of Forres' only five-star tourist attraction.

Due to Moray Council budget cuts, the Falconer Museum will close its doors for the final time in its 147-year-old history on October 31, unless a sustainable plan can ensure its survival.

Chairman of the Friends of the Falconer Museum, Dr John Barrett, confirmed the community is invited to the museum on Tuesday, October 22 from 7pm, to try and find a solution to the problems he believes have been escalated by the local authority.

He said: "Invited speakers, including our patron the Earl of Moray, will address the meeting and answer questions.

"Moray Council announced last autumn that it could no longer afford to provide the service so the building will close on October 31 but not reopen. Four staff posts will become redundant.

"The council has expressed a hope that someone will come forward to form a trust to take over the museum and run it with volunteer staff. No potential trustee has yet been identified and the council is unwilling to give information on how – or whether – this matter is progressing."

He added: "Moray Council has unilaterally declared that it is no longer bound by our 1996 legal agreement to "continue to manage, administer and finance" the Falconer Museum."

He said the trust could only be dissolved by proceedings in the High Court.

And he accused councillors of an "egregious abdication of their responsibilities as trustees."

In the 1990s, ownership was passed by the trustees to Moray District Council and in 1996 the council agreed to ensure that the name and identity of the Falconer Museum was preserved. Although staffing has been reduced, it was recognised as a VisitScotland five-star visitor attraction in 2011.

However, Dr Barrett said: "With no guarantee of future funding, the collections and buildings will deteriorate. Eventually this breathtaking assemblage of Moray history and heritage, including artefacts and collections of national importance will be lost. If a trust is formed to run the museum as an amateur/volunteer institution, the museum will lose its accredited status and will no longer receive local treasure trove collections.

"We are dismayed that the council has decided it is no longer bound by the legal agreement it signed in 1996 but we cannot afford to challenge the council's decision in the High Court. We have engaged with senior Moray Council officials and councillor trustees to urge the authority to continue to provide a publicly-funded, professionally staffed, accredited museum service."

He added: "The Friends are fully committed to continue supporting the Falconer Museum under any management regime that may be established."

A Moray Council spokesperson said: "We have engaged with the friends of the Falconer Museum. There is no breach of the 1996 agreement as it was between the district council and the trust, and neither party exists.

"The management, administration and financing of the museum is a matter for the council to determine."

Local councillor and former trustee Claire Feaver said: "The council decision was to close the museum at the end of March 2020 if we had not found an alternative. I have asked staff to try and develop a sustainable business model for the museum service to ensure it can be maintained for future generations."

Fellow local councillor Aaron McLean confirmed: "The building and the collection will continue to be looked after. The facility could have closed last year but we felt we should allow time to try and set up a heritage trust but this is taking longer than anticipated. I fought against closing the museum in 2013 but the council is in a far more precarious financial position now."

Councillor George Alexander added: "It has been my aim to find a way of continuing to have the museum open to the public while the council continues to maintain its responsibilities toward the buildings and the artefacts. I continue to explore what needs to be done in order to create a new model of provision which is less of a burden on the public purse."

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