Dear Editor,

I have recently read two articles which have given me cause to write this letter. The first was last week’s headline article indicating that the Museum of the Iron Age and Andover Museum were in line for possible closure.

Several reasons were given for this – lack of funding from Hampshire Cultural Trust, lack of volunteers to run the museum resulting in restricted opening hours, the running costs of maintaining the building and the fact that the Trust receive no funding support from Test Valley despite them getting support from both Basingstoke and Winchester councils to help maintain their cultural heritage.

Andover is often by-passed by tourists wishing to visit Winchester and Salisbury as well as Stonehenge, but we have a golden opportunity to put the town firmly on the tourist map with the inclusion of the museum in the regeneration plan.

Barclays Bank has recently closed leaving a beautiful building lying empty which will soon deteriorate with lack of use. We have too many derelict buildings already in the town. Why not move the museum into this building?

It will obviously need careful planning and interior alterations to transform the old bank into a museum worthy of preserving the Andover’s heritage but what a bonus it would be for the town.

Footfall will increase and bringing both museums into the 21st century will go a long way to putting Andover firmly on the tourist map. Both are unique museums and ones which we should not just allow to slide into oblivion. 

In the autumn edition of Test Valley News, I learnt about the progress regarding the regeneration plans for which the authority was awarded £18.3m earlier this year. Most of this is earmarked for building a new theatre in the town centre and in ecological projects.

While these plans are to be commended, I feel that an opportunity is being missed in not thinking about and including our museum in these plans. Both could complement each other and bring in much needed visitors into the town.

Eleanor Jakeman
Salisbury Road, Andover

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