Calls for help to keep costume museum open
DUMFRIES and Galloway MP Russell Brown has called on the Scottish Government to step in and keep the National Museum of Costume at Shambellie House open, following reports that is facing the axe as a result of SNP budget cuts.
The National Museum of Costume is based in Shambellie House at New Abbey near Dumfries. The museum is part of the National Museums of Scotland, which runs several museums across the country. The National Museums of Scotland is a non-departmental public body that receives its core funding from the Scottish Government. Russell Brown has written Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop MSP, calling on the Government to step in and ensure the museum stays open.
A consultation into the future of the museum is currently underway with a final decision due in November.
Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown said: “I was very concerned to hear that the National Museum of Costume at Shambellie House is under threat because of SNP budget cuts. It is an important asset to Dumfries and Galloway and its possible closure will come as a big blow to staff as local people and visitors.
“The museum may be small compared to other museums owned by the National Museums of Scotland in the country, but it is significant for our region. If the National Museums of Scotland is to be a truly national organisation then it needs to represent the whole of Scotland. The closure of the National Museum of Costume at New Abbey would send a terrible signal about how our region is viewed. Yet again the SNP Government seems too ready to forget about Dumfries and Galloway.
“I’ve written to the Cultural Secretary Fiona Hyslop calling on her to step in and keep the museum open. We must fight to protect what we have in our region and I won’t stand back and watch as we lose local services.”
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Weather for Newton Stewart
Saturday 18 May 2013
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