Museum charity at ‘crossroads’ facing closure after more than seven decades

Acharity whichhas supporteda CountyDurhammuseumformorethansevendecadescouldfaceclosure. TheFriendsofTheBowesMuseum (FOBM)haspreviouslyhighlightedthatithadbeenleftata‘crossroads’moment,duetoalackofvolunteersandareductioninincome. But,ithasnowconfirmedthatitsmemberswillvoteonaproposaltoclosethegroupatan‘extraordinary’meeting,whichwilltakeplace nextWednesday(April16). ColinHardy,chairoftheFOBM,hasconfirmedthatthedecision“hasn’tbeentakenlightly”,butrecognisedthattherehasbeena“shiftinsociety”,whichhasseenthecharityreduceintermsofmembershipandfunds. ADVERTISEMENTHealsonotedthatthecharity’ssituationisn’t‘unique’andotherorganisations arefindingthemselvesinasimilarposition. IfthedecisionisvotedthroughonApril16,allofthemembershipsandassetswillbetransferredtoTheBowesMuseum. MrHardysaid:“TheFriendsofTheBowesMuseum hasnotclose