Council to run coastal town museums and galleries

The running of Scarborough's museums and art galleries will be handed over to the council after being handled by a charity for two decades.

North Yorkshire Council has agreed to take over the operation of Scarborough Art Gallery, the Rotunda Museum and Woodend Gallery and Studios following a request by the Scarborough Museums Creative and Cultural Trust (SMCCT).

The trust said the arrangement, which saw it receive funding of about £500,000 a year, was no longer viable due to economic pressures, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But at a meeting of the council's executive committee on Tuesday, councillors heard some local residents had concerns about the move.

Marie Woods, a former trustee of the museum trust, told the meeting: "In my view, the finances place the museums in a viable situation and local authority management can lead to entanglement and financial uncertainty.

"There has been a complete lack of transparency and little regard for communication, including how it will affect the museum staff, and I urge the trustees and the council to undertake a more robust consultation."

Councillor Simon Myers, the council's executive member for culture, said the trustees had "thought long and hard about the solutions to ensure that services are delivered for residents, students and visitors".

"We have been extremely supportive of the trustees and one of our primary concerns was the wellbeing of the staff and ensuring they were fully engaged," he said.

The trust's current service level agreement with the council was set to run until the end of 2038.

The executive committee voted unanimously to approve the recommendation and request from SMCCT.

It was estimated the move could provide annual savings of more than £50,000, with support service and management costs reduced, a council spokesperson previously said.

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