Fleetwood Museum transfer to Trust
Volunteers from Fleetwood Museum Trust are to take over the town’s Museum from next month.
A decision taken by Lancashire County Council’s cabinet on Thursday 8 March 2018 agreed to the Trust taking over the operation of the museum.
The doors will be reopened by the volunteers on Tuesday 27 March in time to take advantage of one of the peak times of the year by ensuring the museum can welcome visitors during the school Easter holidays. The formal legal transfer of the service is expected to be completed on 1 April.
After opening at 10.30am on 27 March, the museum will then be open from 10.30am to 4pm every day until Saturday 7th April. The museum will then be open from Tuesday to Saturday, on Bank Holiday Sundays & Mondays and for special Sunday events including the Fleetwood Transport Festival and the Folk Festival from 10.30am to 4pm.
The museum was one of five council-run museums which were closed to the public last year.
However the museum was given a lifeline when Trust’s volunteers stepped in last April to keep it operational.
Negotiations have been ongoing since then between the council and the Trust, which expressed an interest at an early stage of taking over the running of the museum.
Sue Porter, from the Fleetwood Museum Trust, said: “I’m thrilled that we are able to take over the running of this fabulous museum.
“We have been very hands-on with the day-to-day running of the museum for a while now, and are delighted that this has now been formalised.
“We’ve been able to keep all the existing collection on display, so there is certainly much to see.”
County Councillor Peter Buckley, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for community and cultural services, said:” The county council has been working hard to ensure the museums are once again available to the public, with our efforts being focused on talking with organisations which have expressed an interest in taking them on – in the meantime we’ve continued to maintain the collections and buildings.
“I’m delighted that the legal agreement to transfer the operation of the museum from the county council to the Fleetwood Museum Trust is almost complete.
“It is good news that the first transfer deal is nearly finalised and it therefore makes good business sense to ensure the museum can attract visitors over Easter.”
“This museum has outstanding historical significance and is Lancashire’s permanent reminder of its long-standing sea fishing heritage.
“It seems entirely appropriate that the volunteers from the Trust take on the responsibility of running the museum formally. They have been doing a great job keeping it open for a while now and I’ve no doubt that this experience will help them to run it very successfully when they take it on entirely in a few weeks’ time.”
The museum has been run by the Trust’s volunteers to keep it operational since 14 April 2017. Fleetwood Museum Trust has provided volunteers and activities at the museum since 2007.
To contact the Fleetwood Museum Trust call 01253 876621. Alternatively contact Keith Porter, Museum Trust Chairman, on 07885 375304.