Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Campaigners fear Heritage Museum is already doomed
‘I came away feeling it’s a done deal’ Council: ‘Our plan supported’
Campaigners fighting the closure of Canterbury Heritage Museum believe it is a “done deal” after their alternative plans for the historic venue were snubbed by the city council.
The group, led by the director of the city’s archaeological trust, Paul Bennett, fiercely believe the museum in Stour Street should continue to tell the story of Canterbury.
But the council wants to hand over the loss-making museum to the Marlowe Youth Theatre for a new performing arts venue.
Mr Bennett says a consortium of historians, archaeologists and volunteers are ready to take it on if they are given time to put together a business plan.
But after a meeting with the city council, he was convinced the closure is as good as signed off.
“I came away feeling it’s a done deal,” he said.
“It is really about solving two problems for the council, who save money and get to re-home the youth theatre from their current base in Pound Lane, which is a capital asset to sell off.”
As part of the council’s proposals, many of the heritage museum’s artefacts and exhibits will be moved to new displays at the Beaney, while others will remain and form part of a performing arts programme aimed at “bringing them to life”.
But Mr Bennett believes his vision for the museum could offer it a viable future if supporters are offered the chance to produce a detailed plan and even apply for Lottery funding.
He said: “While I can see the synergy of their idea, which has some merit, we will lose the opportunity to make the museum a really special heritage and archaeological resource centre.
“I have been trying to tell the council that their idea is not the only way forward and there is a huge groundswell of opinion in support of another way.
“The council says it cannot be a success because it is 200 yards off the High Street, but that’s ridiculous. It just needs proper signposting and marketing.”
Mr Bennett says he will make a last- ditch effort to change councillors’ minds when the council’s community committee meets to decide the museum’s future on Wednesday, March 29.
A petition to save it from closure currently has almost 2,000 signatures.
Visit www.ipetitions.com/ petition/save-canterburyheritage-museum. Despite Mr Bennett’s claims of support, the city council says a public consultation reveals “no groundswell of opinion” for an alternative to its proposals.
The authority claims its aim is to provide a far more ambitious presentation of the city’s heritage than objectors have suggested.
The proposal, it says, is not just about securing a new home for the Marlowe Youth Theatre, but also to provide a wide-reaching creative programme for the city’s literacy history.
Spokesman Rob Davies says the consultation, shows many organisations previously listed as being supporters of an alternative now see the value of the council’s proposal.
He added: “Success for the council means better access to the collections and the building. The current proposal will achieve both.
“Greater numbers of people will see our collections and the experience will be of a much higher quality than of present.”
He says better marketing and signposting for the existing museum has been tried but will never improve visitor numbers to make the attraction viable.