The axe is set to fall on Angus tourist attraction Pictavia because of plummeting visitor numbers.
The future of the museum in Brechin has been under threat since last year when VisitScotland indicated it was closing its information centre within the attraction.
The museum, at Brechin CastleCentre, opened in 1999 at a cost of£1.2 million with the expectation it would attract around 25,000 visitors per year.
However, only 13,000 people went through its doors in its first year andvisitors have steadily declined to just 3,500 a year. It has lost £27,000 a year for the past four years.
Angus Council’s development and enterprise committee will meet onTuesday with the recommendation that the museum closes at the end of thecurrent season on October 31.
A damning report commissioned by the authority concluded there was “little prospect” of the attraction seeing an increase in numbers to make it financially sustainable.
It added: “We consider that there is little point in investing in providing subsidy to a concept which may have some interest for a small number of visitors but hasessentially not performed and is unlikely to be generating the tourism impact which was initially envisaged for it.”
Development and enterprise committee convener councillor Mairi Evans said the review had highlighted that Pictavia would be a “drain on council resources”.
She added: “The investment needed to achieve a sustainable increase in visitor numbers is in the hundreds of thousands.
“We can’t contemplate that level of expenditure, nor can we maintain thecurrent level of subsidy.”
Under an informal arrangement,VisitScotland staff help operate the facility on the outskirts of Brechin, taking admission fees. The tourist body pulling out means Angus Council would have to employ at least two additional members of staff at a time of increased budget pressures.
In his report to councillors chiefexecutive Richard Stiff suggested that a six-figure investment was required to update the attraction.
He said: “Pictavia has been open for 15 years with limited capital investment over that period and now requires updating and improvement if it is to continue attracting visitors. It would need a major investment in excess of £100,000 to bring significant improvements to the visitor experience in both layout and technology.
“The review also highlighted that short-term investment may create a short-term bounce in visitor numbers but was unlikely to be sustainable in the long term.
“It was recognised that securing such major investment was likely be unrealistic from the public sector in this period of budget constraints.”
The average operating cost of Pictavia over the past four years is £37,000 offset by ticket income of around £10,000 creating a net loss of £27,000 per annum.