Save the Cromwell Museum - sign the petition
here
The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon is under threat of closure. The
Museum, which was set up in 1962, is earmarked for closure from the end
of 2014. The Friends of the Cromwell Museum are determined to prevent
this if at all possible. Please support the campaign.
The Museum is run and funded by Cambridgeshire County Council, which
like all local authorities, has to make significant budget reductions.
The County’s Business Plan for 2014-19 contains a reference to the
planned closure of the Museum from 2015-16 to achieve a saving of
£20,000. The County Council’s case for the complete withdrawal of
support is based on the need to make savings and the fact that the
provision of the Museum is not a statutory requirement.
The Friends of the Museum are opposed to the closure on the grounds
that it would be a significant loss, locally, regionally and nationally,
and that the level of savings proposed is miniscule compared to the
authority’s budget as a whole. The County does many things which are
equally non-statutory, from the provision of ‘real-time’ bus information
on bus stops, to a Mediatheque at Cambridge Central Library. Many other
local authorities provide museum services to a far greater extent than
Cambridgeshire because they recognise their cultural and economic value.
The Friends believe that the Cromwell Museum contributes to the County
Council’s wider objectives, and should continue to receive support.
The budget proposals also refer to the option of transferring the
Museum to another operator. The Friends support an initiative to
investigate this option further, but are not optimistic that an
alternative will be found. The Friends urge the County Council to
guarantee support for the Museum, at no less than the current level, for
five years, unless and until, another viable means of operating the
Museum is in place.
If the Museum is to be saved for the future it is critical that
concerns are raised now. Join the campaign to save the Cromwell Museum.
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I don't doubt the Conservative Council and Government feel deeply disturbed by the shadow of a man who cared so much for democracy he was prepared to fight for it. Sadly many of the present MPs are only roused to fight over their expenses. And there we have the solution - let the Tory Cambridgeshire MPs donate their expenses, until this mythical recovery we hear so much about actually arrives.
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