Wandsworth Museum "saved"

7.48.19pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 9th Apr 2007

At the last minute Wandsworth Council announced that Wandsworth Museum had been saved by the intervention of local benefactors Dorothy and Michael Hintze. According to the Council they will donate £2m to a trust that will take the museum on, taking on the West Hill library site, and co-locating it with the De Morgan Centre, saving it from the eviction that had been planned for it.

We must pay tribute both to the Hintzes and to the many local campaigners, of all parties and none, who fought to save our local cultural heritage. We suspect that Cllrs Lister and Grimston are feeling very pleased with themselves. They appear to have saved both the institution and the Council Tax expenditure. Their plans flushed out local supporters and benefactors. Whether local campaigners are so pleased with Messrs Lister and Grimston, and their supine Tory party colleagues is another matter. They had clearly been plotting the closure for some time before they broke cover, and gave no time for a more considered, democratic or consultative approach. They could have brought the issue to public attention a long time ago. Often the school bullies win - but most people think there is a better way. But this is all too typical of how one-party states behave.

Mr Grimston is going to donate some of his own money to the trust, though. Of course he is right to point out that we can all help individually to contribute to preserving cultural heritage - but he spoilt it all by turning it into a silly political stunt about Wandsworth's council tax. Not a good way of building a broad base of donors.

Another matter is what this deal actually is. The details haven't been worked out, and critically how the running costs are to be funded. One of the Museum's most precious assets is its staff, who have built excellent local knowledge and connections. It is far from clear whether their jobs have been saved.

Local Lib Dem Matthew Green outside Wandsworth Museum

Many campaigners breathed a sigh of relief at the news. Unfortunately it is too early.