As Leicester museums service 'puts its house in order', Sarah Levitt, the head of Leicester city museums, has acknow-ledged that opening the six museums all year round would be 'unrealistic'.
Levitt had told Museums Journal in April that the service would need an extra £500,000 a year for it to run with all sites open.
But Levitt has now said that it would not make good business sense to invest money in this way. 'Even if I were to wave a magic wand, we would still need to deliver better value for money. Leicester needs fewer but better services,' she said.
From October, all sites are to close for one day a week and the archaeological museum, Jewry Wall, is to close to the public apart from Saturdays.
Levitt's improvement plans cover the entire service. The council has committed £750,000 of capital funding for a new collection facility, a further £500,000 will develop the first floor, foyer and Victorian art gallery of New Walk, Leicester's flagship museum.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded a £1.5m grant to the redisplay of Newarke Houses, incorporating the story of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment into the context of how Leicester developed into a multicultural city.
The three 18th century houses and gardens which form the Belgrave Hall complex are to be transformed into 'a busy cultural and educational facility at the heart of the local community' - with the help of £350,000 of European funding and £500,000 of the Wolfson Trust Fund. A further £350,000 is expected from a Leicestershire partnership project.
Alan McWhirr, the secretary of Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, said that the main concern is the reduction in opening hours to the Jewry Wall Museum. 'Tens of thousands of years of history will not be on display all of the time,' he said.
Levitt said the Jewry Wall Museum and the Abbey Pumping Station have 'very loyal stakeholder groups' that she values. 'While we are very understanding of their needs, we also have to become more relevant to a diverse community.'
· Bedford Borough Council has agreed its first batch of funding for the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Bedford Museum in its bid to transform both centres. The council has promised £2m, subject to the remainder of the funding (£13m) coming from the HLF.
A council spokesman said an application is to be made to the HLF in the autumn. If successful, the art gallery and the museum's artefacts would be combined in a new building. A feasibility study was undertaken by Lord Cultural Resources Planning and Management.
Levitt had told Museums Journal in April that the service would need an extra £500,000 a year for it to run with all sites open.
But Levitt has now said that it would not make good business sense to invest money in this way. 'Even if I were to wave a magic wand, we would still need to deliver better value for money. Leicester needs fewer but better services,' she said.
From October, all sites are to close for one day a week and the archaeological museum, Jewry Wall, is to close to the public apart from Saturdays.
Levitt's improvement plans cover the entire service. The council has committed £750,000 of capital funding for a new collection facility, a further £500,000 will develop the first floor, foyer and Victorian art gallery of New Walk, Leicester's flagship museum.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded a £1.5m grant to the redisplay of Newarke Houses, incorporating the story of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment into the context of how Leicester developed into a multicultural city.
The three 18th century houses and gardens which form the Belgrave Hall complex are to be transformed into 'a busy cultural and educational facility at the heart of the local community' - with the help of £350,000 of European funding and £500,000 of the Wolfson Trust Fund. A further £350,000 is expected from a Leicestershire partnership project.
Alan McWhirr, the secretary of Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, said that the main concern is the reduction in opening hours to the Jewry Wall Museum. 'Tens of thousands of years of history will not be on display all of the time,' he said.
Levitt said the Jewry Wall Museum and the Abbey Pumping Station have 'very loyal stakeholder groups' that she values. 'While we are very understanding of their needs, we also have to become more relevant to a diverse community.'
· Bedford Borough Council has agreed its first batch of funding for the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Bedford Museum in its bid to transform both centres. The council has promised £2m, subject to the remainder of the funding (£13m) coming from the HLF.
A council spokesman said an application is to be made to the HLF in the autumn. If successful, the art gallery and the museum's artefacts would be combined in a new building. A feasibility study was undertaken by Lord Cultural Resources Planning and Management.
