FEARS that Falkirk Council was ready to close heritage sites across the district have been eased following a meeting.
An emergency community meeting took place in Bo'ness when word got out that the council could consider closing Kinneil Museum in th
e future to focus more resources on the town's newly refurbished Hippodrome complex.
And local historian Ian Scott believes the angry reaction of people in Bo'ness has made it clear to the council that communities everywhere will react strongly to any proposals to close other heritage sites.
Mr Scott said: "I think the council members in attendance left Bo'ness with the realisation that any moves to scale down investment in local heritage projects would be very unpopular.
"They implied a lot of the concerns about Kinneal were based on misunderstandings, but the fact is they issued a document which said closing Kinneil and transferring its budget would be the most cost effective way of funding the Hippodrome – so there was a genuine basis for concern. I think the council have seen how local people across the district are likely to react to such plans, and how important it is to communicate their intentions clearly."
Merging
In December last year, members of Falkirk Council's environment and heritage committee discussed the possibility of closing Grangemouth museum and merging its collection with the one held by the town's Heritage Trust – a proposal which was backed by a number of councillors. Members of the Heritage Trust, however, said the town was big enough to sustain two local history collections.
Falkirk Council is currently waiting to discover if a joint bid to make the Antonine Wall Scotland's fifth World Heritage site will be accepted. It is believed that securing World Heritage status for the Roman ruin would be a major boost for tourism in the area.
Environment and heritage committee convener Councillor Robert Spears insists communities can rest assured that they will be fully consulted on any proposals affecting local heritage collections.
He said: "This administration has gone further in terms of consultation than any other. With the world heritage bid we are re-evaluating the whole Roman heritage in the area and how we portray it.
"Tourism is expanding in the area and if the bid for world heritage status is successful it could open funding avenues for further expansion of local heritage.
"There are a lot of plans being looked at and we're very open to people's ideas as well."
Councillor Spears went on: "Ultimately, the heritage sites and collections in the Falkirk area don't belong to the council, they belong to the people."
craig.rennie@ falkirkherald.co.uk
