Council defends decision-making ahead of legal action over museum closure

A county council has defended its decision-making processes after being told that campaigners are to bring a judicial review against its plans to close a museum.

The High Court application is reportedly being brought by a volunteer at the Snibston Discovery Museum in Coalville, Leicestershire.

The Cabinet at Leicestershire County Council decided on 14 January 2015 to shut the museum in its current form, as part of its efforts to make savings running into the tens of millions of pounds by 2018.

A motion at the full council meeting on 18 February calling on the Cabinet to reverse its decision was not agreed.

Commenting on the potential legal action, a spokesman for Leicestershire said: “The county council has been advised, by solicitors acting for a member of the public, that they intend to apply to the High Court for a judicial review.

“The council maintains that proper processes were followed, to arrive at the conclusions reached by the cabinet."

He added: “We will study the application in detail and assess the implications for the council. We cannot comment further at this stage.”

According to a report in the Museums Journal, campaigners believe that two organisations are interested in taking over the running of the museum.