Last Saturday after the so called ' Consideration of Options for Swindon Museum and Art Gallery' was published, a link appears below:
The Save our Museum and Gallery, SoMAG group decided to hold another rally outside Apsley House, there aren't any options in the report and no consideration was taken of the views of our group by either council officers or Councillor Jandy, responsible for the future of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery and Apsley House.
Lots of people came along to show support, and surprise that the council could shut one venue before another was ready to display the collections. I have used other people's photos of the rally, thank you to those who supplied them via social media:
This morning the petition to Save Swindon Museum and Art Gallery was handed in at the Civic Offices. We have well over 4000 signatures, and the petition continues because we haven't declared victory because there hasn't been one yet. If you haven't yet signed, here's a link: https://chng.it/ZKKbGbywMB
Here's a copy of today's press release:
More than 4000 people have signed the petition urging Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet not to make a decision about Apsley House tomorrow evening <c Wed 8 Sept>.
Members of Save Our Museum and Art Gallery group (SoMAG), who launched the petition, presented it to Swindon Borough Council this morning.
Linda Kasmaty, of Save Our Museum and Art Gallery group (SoMAG), said that arguments by council officers that Apsley House should remain closed for financial reasons simply don’t stack up. There is no evidence of what it would cost to reopen the museum and art gallery or to carry out the repairs the officers claim are needed.
“The council admits it has allowed Apsley House, a Grade II listed building which it owns, to fall into serious disrepair, but there is no evidence that professional surveys have been carried out, and no up to date costs for repairs have been produced,” said Linda.
“The council is also suggesting using the Civic Offices as an alternative to the art gallery. Yet the last time the council considered using the Civic Offices to house the paintings, it dismissed that idea because it would cost £1.8m.
“In all conscience, members of Cabinet cannot take an informed decision on this, because they have not been given the information they need. We are urging members to do the intelligent and responsible thing, and tell their officers to go back to the drawing board.
“Swindon’s art and museum collections belong to Swindon people, not to the local authority. The least residents can expect is that the full council has an opportunity to see the results of professional surveys and costings, and make a decision based on the fact.”
The petition states:
“We support the call by the Friends of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery for the Swindon Collection of Modern British Art and the Museum Collections to be retained on show in Apsley House until they can be moved to a new home where they are on show to the public.
“We believe that the dispersal and mothballing of the collections would be highly damaging to Swindon’s bid for City status.
“We reject the recommendations in the Cabinet Member Decision Note and call for a further report to be produced setting out all the options for the future of the collections and of Apsley House, for all funding opportunities to be investigated, and for a debate to be held in full Council before any decisions are made.”
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