Falkirk Council may get rid of historic artefacts as it closes Grangemouth storage facility

Thousands of items belonging to Falkirk Council’s museums, from a neolithic axe head to industrial machinery, are set to be reviewed by experts as part of a project to see what the service should keep.

A report to Falkirk Council’s executive committee suggests that all of the museum services’ collections should be “rationalised” by a panel of experts, in a bid to get rid of duplicates, dangerous materials and objects of no historical or scientific interest.

The proposal has been sparked by the forthcoming closure of the service’s storage facility in Grangemouth which is said to be in very poor condition and will close by October 2026, as part of the council’s ongoing strategic property review.

In its museums at Callendar House and Kinneil Estate as well as the 1241 m2 Grangemouth storage facility, the council has nearly 90,000 pieces of archaeology while there are 36,000 items in its museum collection.

The objects are wide ranging – as well as the neolithic axe head, there are Roman coins, pottery, and medieval jewellery while in addition to the historic collection of industrial machinery, there is ironwork, costumes, and one of the first televisions ever made.

With its industrial past, Falkirk Council’s collection also includes some very large items that cannot be removed from the building without demolishing internal walls, while some items contain dangerous materials such as asbestos and mercury.

According to the report: “This will all be considered carefully as part of the rationalisation process.”

It’s a daunting task which – if members of Falkirk Council’s executive agree – will take two years and involve a panel of experts to make the final decisions about what is kept and what should be discarded, while meeting Museum and Galleries Scotland assurance requirements.

The review panel will include: museum curator, senior archivist, senior manager, and a representative from Museums Galleries Scotland (the national development body for Scotland’s Museums).

According to the report going to councillors, the closure of the storage unit, which is “no longer fit for purpose”, is an ideal opportunity to review what is being held.

The paper states: “Review, rationalisation and disposal are part of responsible management. A comprehensive rationalisation project is needed for our collection.”

The option of renovating the current facility was looked at but was found to be too expensive, with costs ranging from £7.2 million to £12.5 million, in addition to the significant running costs.

Reviewing the collections will help officers know what is required of a replacement facility for when the current building finally closes.

As is standard, only a small proportion of the collection is on permanent display in the museums, but the collections are documented in an online database that is available to members of the public or researchers.

The project will mean that public access to the collections will be reduced temporarily, and the service promises there will be “effective communication” while items are inaccessible.

The proposal will be considered by members of Falkirk Council’s executive when it meets on Thursday, May 1 in Grangemouth Community Education Unit, Abbots Road, Grangemouth, at 10 am.

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