A COUNCIL leader has blamed county-wide cuts for a town museum closing its doors. 

Leader of Eastleigh Borough Council, Keith House has said the authority is "not able to backfill every cut the county makes". 

He made the comments after it was announced that Eastleigh Museum, on the High Street, would be closing its doors this Friday. 

Run by a partnership between the county council, borough council and charities, One Community and Hampshire Cultural Trust, the museum is due to close because of staffing issues and cost problems. 

But now Cllr House has hit out at the county council saying that museums are a county service although the borough council has helped with funding over the years. 

READ MORE: Eastleigh Museum to close over staffing and cost issues

"We are now seeing the long-term effect of the County setting up Hampshire Cultural Trust without long-term funding.

"Our Local Area Committee will be looking at this but we are not able to backfill every cut the County makes.”

a spokesperson for the County Council said though that the authority is "sorry to hear" about the closure whilst works take place to find a solution.

"As well as capital investment, the County Council has committed to maintain continued funding to the Cultural Trust at current levels for the next three years," they added.    

“The County Council will be pleased to work with Hampshire Cultural Trust and Eastleigh Borough Council to consider future options for Eastleigh Museum.” 

Having first opened its doors on October 3, 1986, the museum is now under threat as Paul Sapwell, Chief Executive of Hampshire Cultural Trust, said the charity is "not in a financial position to support staffing the museum and front-of-house running costs with the venue in its current form". 

He added that revenue from the existing shop and café is "not sufficient to support the operations".

The trust said it will continue to work with the community on its Story Group Project which was set up to seek voices on how the museum could become a focal point in the town. 

But now Eastleigh MP, Paul Holmes, has said it's a "real shame that despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the Eastleigh Museum looks set to close". 

He added: "Having visited the museum very recently myself, I know that the Trust involved in running it will be looking at alternative ways of how the Museum might operate and I look forward to hearing about their plans soon.

"The Museum is a big part of the town’s heritage, and I do hope that the history and cultural significance of the town will be celebrated by the continued support of many organisations and groups.”

The Cultural Trust has said it believes that "a more resilient model can be achieved" but that this is subject to the redevelopment of the museum to attract more customers.

It is now in discussion with both the county council and borough council over the plans with hopes that the museum may reopen later this year.