Plans for a new museum in Inverness may be shelved following a spending squeeze by the Highland Council.
The council needs to save £10m next year and councillor David Alston said: "We do not yet know what reductions there will be at a Scottish level in capital funding, but the reduction might be up to 50 per cent. We are reviewing all projects in our capital plan...the Highland museum and art gallery is one such project."
Meanwhile, North Somerset Council's proposal to slash its annual £235,000 grant to the local museum service by £70,000 could lead to redundancies at the North Somerset Museum in Weston-super-Mare.
The council executive accepted a recent culture and leisure review report's recommendations to consult trade unions and staff on cutting museum funding.
The report said "these changes [which include the closure of the museum cafe]...may result in redundancies if redeployment across the council is not possible".
The review also proposes transferring the control of the museum service to a new Community Museum Trust, citing "fiscal advantages" and the "potential for business sponsorship" as benefits.
However, two major local-authority museum projects have been given the go-ahead. Leicester City Council has awarded £2.4m to a gallery planned for the New Walk area, which will replace the City Gallery by 2011.
Planning permission for an extension to Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum has been approved by Cheltenham Borough Council. The £5.5m development incorporates new galleries and study areas over four floors.
The council needs to save £10m next year and councillor David Alston said: "We do not yet know what reductions there will be at a Scottish level in capital funding, but the reduction might be up to 50 per cent. We are reviewing all projects in our capital plan...the Highland museum and art gallery is one such project."
Meanwhile, North Somerset Council's proposal to slash its annual £235,000 grant to the local museum service by £70,000 could lead to redundancies at the North Somerset Museum in Weston-super-Mare.
The council executive accepted a recent culture and leisure review report's recommendations to consult trade unions and staff on cutting museum funding.
The report said "these changes [which include the closure of the museum cafe]...may result in redundancies if redeployment across the council is not possible".
The review also proposes transferring the control of the museum service to a new Community Museum Trust, citing "fiscal advantages" and the "potential for business sponsorship" as benefits.
However, two major local-authority museum projects have been given the go-ahead. Leicester City Council has awarded £2.4m to a gallery planned for the New Walk area, which will replace the City Gallery by 2011.
Planning permission for an extension to Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum has been approved by Cheltenham Borough Council. The £5.5m development incorporates new galleries and study areas over four floors.
