Campaign to save museum gathers momentum

Nov 8 2012 by Magdalene Dalziel, Galloway News

The campaign to save a New Abbey museum is gathering pace.

Business groups and Abbey Ward councillors yesterday met with bosses from the body that runs the National Museum of Costume.

They aimed to seek further talks and convince National Museums Scotland (NMS) to keep the museum open for another year and went armed with suggestions on how to boost profits.

Councillor Tom McAughtrie, who attended the meeting in Edinburgh, said: There are options NMS hasnt really thought through yet.

I suggested they should consider working with Historic Scotland to produce a day ticket giving admission to all three attractions in New Abbey: Shambellie, the Corn Mill and the Abbey itself.

That alone could well help to boost visitor numbers significantly.

Proposed plans to close Shambellie House at the end of this season because of low visitor numbers and high running costs have been met with fierce opposition in the region.

Councillor Ian Blake added: We made it clear that we do not accept that Shambellie has to close but we are willing to work with NMS to help them make Shambellie a sustainable attraction for the region.

One option I asked them to consider is the possibility of using the facility for more events such as weddings in order to generate additional income.

As a former registrar I know how popular this region is for people looking for a unique location to celebrate their marriage.

Politicians from the region met with NMS chief Gordon Rintoul last week in a bid to persuade him to keep the facility open.