Bid to close museum on 'history theme park' sparks outrage among locals

Falkirk Council’s bid to close a museum on an estate that has been likened to a “history theme park” will be delayed to allow a masterplan for the whole estate to be developed.

Kinneil Museum, on Kinneil Estate in Bo’ness, is part of the council’s strategic property review, which will see more than 100 council-owned properties either close or transfer out of council ownership.

A report to this week’s meeting of Falkirk Council stated that the museum would close in September as no expressions of interest had been received from any group willing to take on ownership.

This sparked outrage from Friends of Kinneil, a group of volunteers, who had understood that no decision would be made until a review of the masterplan for the wider estate – due to start last September – had taken place.

At Thursday’s meeting, lead officer Paul Kettrick agreed there had been ‘miscommunication’ and said he accepted that the council could have been clearer about its intentions.

Director of Place Services Malcolm Bennie agreed that the council “hadn’t properly articulated the process” and said he was happy to have “time to make sure we completely exhaust every single opportunity for engagement over the future of the museum”.

Addressing councillors directly, Ian Shearer, representing Friends of Kinneil, urged them not to lose the building which provides facilities for the A-listed Kinneil House and “take Kinneil off the threat list, once and for all”.

The historic mansion, which Historic Environment Scotland manages, has hosted Mary Queen of Scots and was where the pioneering engineer James Watt developed his first engine in a small workshop beside the house in the 1700s.

It is also home to rare Renaissance wall paintings, which can be seen on tours organised by HES throughout the summer.

The estate is also part of the John Muir Way and close to the Roman Antonine Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Friends of Kinneil group believes that the natural beauty and historic connections could be used to grow tourism in the area.

Mr Shearer said: “The heritage round here is one of its unique selling points, and tourism is one of its few growth sectors, with untapped potential.”

He also urged members to consider external funding to develop the park and how investing in Kinneil would boost the area’s economy.

However, Mr Bennie told the meeting that it should be understood that more investment into Kinneil was also very likely to bring much higher costs.

He pointed out that Helix Park, home of the Kelpies, brings in an income of more than a million pounds but still requires a substantial subsidy.

The director said he was keen to meet with Historic Environment Scotland and hoped this would start as soon as possible but he was reluctant to remove the museum from the property review entirely.

The threat of closure, he said, “brings people to the table and makes things happen”.

However, the volunteers insist that their members do not have the skills or the time to look after the B-listed building which is part of an estate of national importance.

The SNP and Labour groups, along with Independent councillor Laura Murtagh, all agreed to defer any closure until talks on the masterplan had taken place with HES.

The Conservative group urged the museum to be removed from the strategic property review entirely, but this was not successful.