Middlesbrough Council Executive have voted to approve “the exploration of a new museum with external partners”, that could replace the existing Captain Cook Birthplace Museum.

The potential new museum would sit within Stewart Park, as the existing one does, according to council documents. The website that promotes the current museum explains that “the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum tells the story of one of the world’s greatest navigators and mariners”.

As reported previously, a controversial proposal to close the museum as part of Middlesbrough Council’s Budget savings was put on hold in February amid strong public opposition. Although the museum was granted a temporary reprieve, challenges still remain.

The future of the museum was on the agenda at Middlesbrough Council’s Executive meeting, on Wednesday, November 13. The executive member for development, Labour Councillor Theo Furness said: “There has recently been discussions with a third party partner potentially having a new museum, or a new way of operating the museum and this is about exploring that opportunity.”

He added: “The main thing is we want to save the museum, we want to have a better offering for the museum and we are exploring every avenue to make sure that we have some offering for the museum”. He mentioned the possibility of a transfer to the Dorman Museum, “but ideally we want to keep it in Stewart Park. With the potential of that third party partner coming in and taking that on, it would be a fantastic opportunity for Stewart Park and the town to be honest.”

Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said: “This is almost the starting pistol to where we can get to in the future. This just allows us to kick start the conversations, which are taking place very, very soon”. 

Executive members also agreed to give immediate authorisation for the continued operation of the museum in 2024/25 “on the basis that the required saving of £100,000 for 2024/25 had been met by a permanent reduction in staffing and that this saving was ongoing”.

Labour Councillor Ian Blades, chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board cited “concerns” that the board had regarding the museum and asked to be kept informed as the process continued. Cllr Furness responded he was “more than happy to” and added that “we don’t want to lose [the museum], we want to keep it, it’s just the council is in a position where it can no longer maintain the current offering by ourselves.”

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Cllr Furness added that if a third party could take on the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, that would likely be the best possible outcome both for the council and the museum itself. 

The decision taken by the Executive also means that the continued operation of the museum in 2025/26 and 2026/27 is subject to securing external revenue support of £150,000 each year.

Failure to secure this funding would result in closure of the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum and the transfer of some or all of the collection to the Dorman Museum.