Brecon Museum Concerns

There was a meeting last week at the Castle Hotel in Brecon about the future of Brecon Museum. As well as members of the County Council, Kirsty Williams AM was there, and Jane Dodds the new MP, Roger Williams the previous Lib Dem MP, and others concerned about the way the project is going. The Museum was due to open earlier this year, but is not ready yet - and it seems that the County Council have been in secret negotiations with Neath Port Talbot Colleges Group for them to take over part of the running of the Y Gaer centre. Apparently they were already part of the project as they are going to run the café.
About 200 people managed to get into the meeting, and about 100 people were turned away because there was no room, though the patio doors were opened so some people could listen from outside.
Nina Davies, the head of housing and community development for Powys Council, said that the museum and library complex should be opening in November or December of this year, and that they needed a partnership with the College Group to secure the financial sustainability of Y Gaer. As well as running the café, the proposal is that the College would also have the use of the Sir John Lloyd Gallery. She also said that the Council were considering limiting the opening hours of all their libraries to 30 hours a week.
Various groups have given grants for the building of the new complex, and these grants come with conditions attached. If the conditions are not met, the donors can withdraw their funds, and the National Lottery and the Welsh Assembly have concerns. One of the donors is the Brecknock Society and Museum Friends, who opened the first museum 50 years ago. They are very concerned that the deal with the College Group will mean there isn't enough space to display the important art collection that the museum has built up.