FEARS have been raised that the north of England is being unfairly treated over funding for cultural and tourist attractions by council chiefs whose museums are under threat.

A joint statement by the leaders of City of York, Bradford City and Manchester City Councils has questioned why spending cuts may force one of their three museums to close, saying this would be considered “unthinkable” in London and the same should apply in the north.

The Press has launched our Save The NRM campaign after the Science Museum Group (SMG), the parent company of the NRM, as well as the National Media Museum in Bradford and Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry, said a further ten per cent cut in the next round of Government spending proposals would leave it with “little choice” but to close one of the sites.

Almost 3,000 people have signed our online petition supporting one of the UK’s best and most-loved museums and many more signatures are being added to forms around the city.

In the statement, York council leader James Alexander and his counterparts in Bradford, David Green, and Manchester, Sir Richard Leese, said closing any of the museums was “something we, and the north as a whole, could not accept”.

“It would be unthinkable to even consider closing national museums like the Victoria and Albert or the National History Museum in London,” they said.

“Why, then, does it appear to be acceptable to discuss potential closures of national museums in northern cities?

“The economic and cultural impact of closing a national museum in Bradford, York or Manchester would be much more devastating in any of these cities than closing a London museum would be on the capital’s or the nation’s economy.”

The leaders said that, as well as showcasing priceless national collections the museums educated the next generation of scientists and engineers, contributed more than £500 million a year to the three cities’ economies and provided the equivalent of more than 250 full-time jobs.

They said Government science policy must be more joined-up and an ongoing commitment to science funding had to be made, questioning why a £13 million Department of Business, Innovation and Skills programme did not devote funds to the SMG.