THE director of the Ashmolean has been brought in to lead a major review of Oxfordshire Museum Service, amid warnings that it is in a 'challenging position' following large-scale cuts.

Alexander Sturgis stressed the review of the service – currently run by the county council – was in early stages but 'everything' was being considered.

The Oxford Mail understands.this could include making it an independent trust and moving it out of Woodstock.

The service’s budget has been cut to £488,000 – 36 per cent less than in 2011 – by Oxfordshire County Council, which is facing huge pressures in other areas such as social care.

This has led to a shortage of staff in museum storage facilities and left buildings “in need of a refresh”, with a working group set up to put it on a secure financial footing.

Dr Sturgis said: “Many council-funded museums are in a very challenging position because funding has been reduced dramatically. Clearly that cannot happen without there being some pain, but there is a future for this service and it has real potential.

“It is very early days and we are not approaching the problem with any pre-formed ideas; we will consider everything. We have got various people with experience in national, independent and university museums looking at this and so I hope the process will benefit from those outside eyes.

“And with the really significant changes on the horizon, from housing planned in places like Bicester, Banbury and Didcot, we need to be asking how we can best serve people across the county.”

Dr Sturgis was appointed director of the Ashmolean by Oxford University in 2014. He was formerly director of the Holburne Museum, Bath, and held senior posts at the National Gallery, London.

He will be joined on the review panel by council officers, Cogges Manor Farm trust chairman Judy Niner, Cheltenham Trust chief executive Julie Finch, Bexley Heritage Trust chief executive Caroline Worthington, Said Business School fellow Pegram Harrison, county council cabinet member Lorraine Lindsay-Gale and Oxford City Council leader Bob Price.

They are due to report back in the autumn, after the Arts Council provided £76,000 to fund the review.

It will look at the whole service, based at the Oxfordshire Museum, which also runs the historic Bishop’s Palace in Witney and Swalcliffe Barn near Banbury.

The museum in Park Street, Woodstock, hosts some of the county’s most important artefacts, including a rare Iron Age mirror found in Didcot.

But Mrs Lindsay-Gale said one option being considered could see the service move to Oxford, where it would be more easily reached by public transport.

And she suggested the city’s Castle Quarter – recently purchased by Land Securities – would be an ideal location, adding: “I have always thought Oxford Castle would be a perfect location and would be more suitable for a county museum.

“We certainly want the service to become less reliant on just the Woodstock base, which is lovely but quite frankly has seen better days.”

Significant work was also needed to digitise the museum’s collections, she added.

The service also operates a storage and conservation facility in Standlake but there are concerns staff reductions have left it underused and unable to quickly process loan requests.

Mr Price, who sits on the South East Arts Council, said at the moment the museum’s resources were being ‘wasted’.

He added: “The Standlake facility is stuffed full of really interesting artefacts and materials which can’t be exhibited because of a lack of space and curatorial capacity to put displays together.

“What we want is a more integrated approach across the county which will lead to the collection becoming more available.

“It cannot continue as it is. At the moment, it is just on a care and maintenance footing.”

Mrs Lindsay-Gale said at present there were no further cuts to the museum’s budget planned but added: “I cannot look into a crystal ball and say the Government won’t make more cuts.

“That is why we are doing this review.”