BRIXHAM'S heritage museum may be forced to close its doors for good after half a century of bringing the town's history to life.

Torbay Council's new budget includes a proposal to axe the museum's grant aid from September.

That would mean the end of funding for curator Dr Philip Armitage (pictured below) and admin officer Cathy Craig — and could spell the end of the museum altogether.

The council budget cut to save £11,000 is due to be considered by the scrutiny committee on January 14.

Officers warn councillors the museum depends on grants, adding: "The loss of the Torbay Council grant may affect the sustainability of the museum in the future."

Torbay Council has provided grants to the museum since 1989.

Apart from a two-year period from 2000 to 2002, the annual grant has gradually increased, to last year's grant of £22,200.

This year, the council is proposing to give the museum a grant of just £11,000 and then to 'cease grant aid' from September.

Council grants contribute to nearly 50 per cent of the museum's annual running costs. The rest is made up of visitor charges.

Dr Amitage and museum volunteers held an emergency meeting about the budget proposals yesterday.

He said: "I don't think the council understands we do lots of educational activities at the museum, and research including family history inquiries.

"The museum is quite dynamic, it's not just a static display of a series of objects."

Last year, 393 people, including local school children, visited the museum for themed, activity-led visits, and members of the museum also visited local schools.

In 2008, the museum organised an archaeological dig for 50 local youngsters at Berry Head, plus a mini-archaeological dig for another 40 children inside the museum. And students from Brixham College, Churston Ferrers Grammar School and South Devon College received work placements at the museum last year.

Volunteer manager Stephen Bardwell said Brixham Heritage Museum was the first of Torbay's three museums to gain a national Accreditation status from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Commission, but feared this status may be lost if the grant is cut.

He said: "It is the ceasing of the grant which worries us intensely. We can understand cuts, but this year Brixham Museum seems to be targeted as the council has proposed that Torquay Museum continues to receive a full grant.

"If the proposal to cut the 2009-10 grant is implemented we would need to make our part-time curator redundant which means we would not be able to care for our collections and archives, and greatly reduce our services to schools, other professional organisations and the public.

"All of this would lead to the museum having the dubious distinction of being the first museum in the South West to lose, through no fault of its own, the Accreditation status — with a consequent disqualification when applying for grants from fund-awarding bodies.

"If we lose our funding completely from Torbay Council after September 2009, it would ultimately mean the closure of Brixham's museum.

"This loss would surely be contrary to the mayor's vision for the regeneration of Brixham and a loss of an important tourist asset, not to mention depriving local school children of an educational resource.

"Over its 50 years, Brixham's museum has amassed an important collection of artefacts, documents and photographs entrusted to us by the people of Brixham connected with and portraying Brixham's social and industrial past.

"We have complete lists and histories of trawlers and other vessels built and registered in Brixham since the early 1700s.

"We urge the council to acknowledge the affect this proposal would have and to reconsider it."