Hampshire County Council is in talks with Southampton and Winchester city councils about setting up a trust to run its museums, art and heritage services, as it looks to make further budget savings.
The proposal is one of several measures being considered by Hampshire’s cultural heritage and recreation department, which has suffered a 2% (£528,600) cut to its 2013-14 budget.
Libraries will bear the brunt of the cuts, but the loss of Renaissance funding means the council wants to increase capacity for external funding and investment.
A report on the proposed Hampshire Solent Cultural Trust will be presented to councillors this spring, and could be put in place by 2014-15. Museums and the arts will receive council funding of £2.4m in the coming financial year, down from £3.4m in 2012-13.
Elsewhere, Middlesbrough Council is exploring alternative governance arrangements for the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (Mima).
A spokesman said: “The options include exploring the trust model alongside undertaking consultations with a number of partners, including Teesside University.”
Mima received £879,880 from Middlesbrough Council in 2011-12, but this is set to be cut to £863,000 in 2013-14.
In Scotland, Moray Council will cut its arts budget by 100%, equal to £125,000, from April 2014.
The council, which runs four museums, is looking to make savings of £30m over four years.
The council’s leader, Allan Wright, said that the arts were not a priority for Moray residents. The council is now looking to transfer the running of museums to community groups.
Meanwhile, Shetland Museum and Archives will suffer a 10% funding cut over three years, rather than the 35% previously proposed.
The trust that runs the service had previously warned that the larger cut would force the closure of the museum and archives, with 20 job losses.
The proposal is one of several measures being considered by Hampshire’s cultural heritage and recreation department, which has suffered a 2% (£528,600) cut to its 2013-14 budget.
Libraries will bear the brunt of the cuts, but the loss of Renaissance funding means the council wants to increase capacity for external funding and investment.
A report on the proposed Hampshire Solent Cultural Trust will be presented to councillors this spring, and could be put in place by 2014-15. Museums and the arts will receive council funding of £2.4m in the coming financial year, down from £3.4m in 2012-13.
Elsewhere, Middlesbrough Council is exploring alternative governance arrangements for the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (Mima).
A spokesman said: “The options include exploring the trust model alongside undertaking consultations with a number of partners, including Teesside University.”
Mima received £879,880 from Middlesbrough Council in 2011-12, but this is set to be cut to £863,000 in 2013-14.
In Scotland, Moray Council will cut its arts budget by 100%, equal to £125,000, from April 2014.
The council, which runs four museums, is looking to make savings of £30m over four years.
The council’s leader, Allan Wright, said that the arts were not a priority for Moray residents. The council is now looking to transfer the running of museums to community groups.
Meanwhile, Shetland Museum and Archives will suffer a 10% funding cut over three years, rather than the 35% previously proposed.
The trust that runs the service had previously warned that the larger cut would force the closure of the museum and archives, with 20 job losses.
