'Save our museum'

On Friday, members of local societies joined people from The Friends of The Willis Museum to voice their opposition to a county council plan which, they say, will pull the museum apart and divide its historic exhibits between Basingstoke's Milestones museum and a new Discovery Centre in the town library.

Sue Tapliss, curator of The Willis Museum, has been given a week to report on whether exhibits can be properly displayed in a refurbished space in the town centre library in Potters Walk.

She told The Gazette: "We are looking at how we can improve the range and access to collections and services. It has already happened elsewhere in Hampshire. But, of course, it is very unsettling for everyone."

A Hampshire County Council spokesman confirmed that proposals for the introduction of a Discovery Centre are being drawn up.

The spokesman also said the county would "be looking to create stronger links with Milestones" which is sited at the West Ham Leisure Park.

The county has pledged that any plans to move The Willis Museum exhibits would be subject to consultation with the authority's partners and the local community.

The exhibits are currently housed in what was Basingstoke's former town hall in Market Place. This was built in 1832.

The collection, which includes artefacts from ancient times to the present, charts the history of Basingstoke and was started by the town's first Freeman, George Willis - a jeweller and watchmaker who died in 1970 at the age of 92.

The exhibits on three floors include The Deane Cup, which dates from 1551, and Fred the Roman buried in his large stone coffin.

Mr Willis's collection of clocks and watches is also on display along with exhibits showing daily life in the town over the centuries.

The exhibits moved into the current premises in 1983 and now attract around 33,000 visitors in a year.

The museum building itself is owned by the borough council and is leased to the Hampshire County Council museums service.

Alan Roach, chairman of The Friends of The Willis Museum, said the members, who have raised thousands of pounds to improve the facilities, are angry and very worried about the closure threat.

He said: "We are absolutely annoyed. It's the sort of thing where the little folk are not being considered. I don't now how it can all fit into a library.

"We have the highest number of schoolchildren visiting a museum in the county, but in a library the rule is silence. I think we are losing out to Milestones. The name of Willis is going and nobody seems to care."

Basingstoke council leader Brian Gurden, who is also a county councillor, said the "exciting" proposals for the library development are in their infancy.

He pointed out that The Willis Museum overlaps with the financially-challenged Milestones museum which, he said, is due for a new business plan in a bid to boost visitor numbers and income.

In its first year, Milestones attracted 180,000 visitors but this has since dropped to around the 100,000 mark. To reach its financial targets, it needs to be attracting between 130,000 and 140,000.

Cllr Gurden - who sits on the board of Milestones, which is a joint project between the borough and county councils - explained: "The Willis Museum is a highly-valued local cultural landmark. It is a lovely little museum.

"But there is a financial challenge with Milestones, as with all big museums, as to how it can be properly funded, so the issue is whether it is right and proper to have two museums so physically close and with such an overlap.

"Milestones already has the shop front of Mr Willis' old premises."

He continued: "The cost of keeping The Willis Museum open is very high. It is just a possibility that if parts of The Willis went into Milestones, then other parts could go into the Discovery Centre."

Cllr Gurden said the Discovery Centre could include many elements besides books, such as a Citizens' Advice Bureau facility, The Willis Museum exhibits, an internet caf and other online information resources.

He added the aim is to widen the use of the library building and appeal to a younger audience.

The Southern Tourist Board has a public information office in the old town hall and Cllr Gurden said it might make sense for the organisation to move to the local authority information office near the library.

But he cautioned: "This is all at such an early stage.

"It may well be that we cannot deliver it. It is not wholly being driven by money. It is an opportunity for different groups to come together and maybe produce something better than we have at the moment.

"Of course, I recognise some groups may feel threatened by this. I don't want to antagonise anyone."

Cllr Gurden ruled out any possibility of selling off the former town hall building itself.