As we reported recently, Wiltshire Council have refused to increase their support for the museum by £25,000 a year on the grounds that “nobody was saying put more money into museums, they were all saying take money out of museums to keep other things open”

However, we think we’ve found a solution in the council’s Business Plan 2011/2015 in which the Council says “We want people to have a real say on decisions that affect them and their communities“. That’s good, as it seems clear that what has happened is that the Council has accidentally failed to give the public a “real say” because it has failed to explain the true implications of failing to support the Museum. We doubt the public wishes to see the Museum actually put at risk yet the Council is acting as if they do! So that leaves a simple way to settle the matter. The Council should ask the public (on their website, straight away) the specific question:

Do you wish to prejudice the future of Wiltshire’s world-famous Heritage Museum for want of £25,000 a year that we the council have deduced that you the public doesn’t want us to provide Yes/No ?

Watch this space.

[To support this suggestion you can contact Councillor Alan Macrae, portfolio holder for Libraries, Heritage and Culture here alan.macrae@wiltshire.gov.uk and Jane Scott, leader of the Council here jane.scott@wiltshire.gov.uk]