WINCHESTER councillors have unanimously agreed a merger of their museums service with Hampshire County Council.

A newly-created Hampshire Solent Cultural Trust would operate museums such as the City Museum in The Square in Winchester.

Civic chiefs believe the new charity would be cheaper to run but also be better placed to obtain future funding.

Rob Humby, deputy council leader, told the Council last night the trust would be able to make the most of increasingly limited limited resources but also enable more of Winchester's historic collection to be available to the public.

The trust would be run by an independent board partly made up of councillors from the city and county councils.

Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors were supportive of the move.

But Labour leader Chris Pines said it was vital the new trust maintained its outreach work in poorer communities.

Tory councillor Stephen Godfrey said: “It is important we allow the museum service to flourish which we have not been able to do because of the way we have cut the budget again and again and again over the last ten years. That is the future unless we back this measure.”

Lib Dem councillor Simon Cook, who in the 1980s and early 1990s ran the Winchester museums service, said: “Staff have seen the service gradually deteriorate. They see this (trust) as hope. But we have to keep our eye firmly on the ball. My problem is that I do not trust the county council.”