 The new scheme could help keep Wanlockhead museum open |
A funding plan has been announced which could assist the Scottish Lead Mining Museum at Wanlockhead. The Significance Scheme will put �1m over the next two years into non-national museums and galleries seen to be of major cultural importance.
The scheme - run by the Scottish Museums Council - is seen as a potential lifeline for Wanlockhead.
Trustees announced recently that the site would not reopen for 2007 due to lack of funds and increasing costs.
The museum, which opened in 1974, attracts about 15,000 visitors a year.
 |  What we have to make sure is that the scheme provides enough to allow the museum to operate with a degree of certainty |
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale Tory MSP Alex Fergusson said the scheme might be the only way it could survive.
"This is the best chance of a clear future funding stream which is what the trustees desperately need in order to be able to run a proper budget from year to year," he said.
"They can't do that at present when they have to run cap in hand to the council and then anybody else they can think of to provide funding."
He added: "What we have to make sure is that the scheme provides enough to allow the museum to operate with a degree of certainty."
Pledge fulfilled
The new scheme was announced by Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson.
It is hoped it will ensure important collections are identified, protected and promoted to a wider audience.
"In January, in response to the Cultural Commission Report, I made a commitment to support Scotland's non-national museums," said Ms Ferguson.
"This new scheme, which invests �500,000 per year in museums and galleries across Scotland, fulfils that pledge."
The news was also welcomed by Scottish Museums Council Chief Executive Officer Joanne Orr.
She said it could raise the profile of collections and help improve standards in collection care.
The chairman of the Significance Committee, Douglas Connell, said it heralded a bright future for museums across the country.
"This is an exciting time for Scotland's museums and galleries holding nationally significant collections in whole or in part," he said.
"I thank the Scottish Executive for creating this initiative and SMC for their hard work in developing the scheme and managing the process."
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