A leading councillor says ‘every option is being explored’ over the future of Tolson Museum which could shut down for good at the end of this year.

The landmark museum in Ravensknowle Park in Wakefield Road, Dalton, will remain open until the end of 2026 but Kirklees Council has not said what will happen from 2027.

In a statement, the council told Huddersfield Hub in August that “no decisions have been taken on its long-term future.”

Huddersfield Hub has asked the council’s Cabinet member for place, culture and volunteering, Clr Pip Harvey, if the museum was going to close at the end of the year.

Clr Harvey (Reform, Almondbury) confirmed the council had no plans for the museum beyond 2026 but added: “I don’t believe that the answer should be that we don’t know what we’re doing with it.

“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen with Tolson Museum but what I can tell you is that I have already put ideas forward to as to how the building can be utilised.”

Tolson Museum is in Clr Harvey’s Almondbury ward and she said as a local resident and a ward councillor the museum was very important to her.

She added: “There’s certain decisions that have been made prior to our administration. What I will say, as a resident of Kirklees and a councillor for the Almondbury ward, is that – for me – it wasn’t acceptable to just close the Tolson Museum and not have any plans with regards to how the building can be utilised.

“One of my objectives – and main objectives – when I came in (as Cabinet member) was to make sure we explore all possible routes, and that’s what I’m doing.

“It’s our role as the administration to make sure that we look at all possible options and sometimes think outside the box.”

Tolson Memorial Museum was gifted to the people of Huddersfield by Legh Tolson in memory of his nephews Robert Huntriss Tolson and James Martin Tolson who were both killed in World War One.

The building is officially classed as a war memorial and it opened as a museum in 1922.

There is a legal covenant which says the building must be used as a museum or for educational or recreational purposes, which restricts what can happen to it.

Back in October 2016 Kirklees Council made a formal decision to close three museums – Dewsbury Museum, Red House Museum in Gomersal and Tolson Museum.

Dewsbury and Red House closed within months but the council decided Tolson would remain open until an alternative location was found.

The council plans to move the Huddersfield collection contained at Tolson to the new Huddersfield Museum, currently under construction in the former library and art gallery building in Huddersfield town centre.

With work only just underway, it could be at least 2029 before that building opens. Former council leader Carole Pattison has previously said it could take four years to pack up and catalogue all the artefacts inside Tolson Museum.

Clr Harvey couldn’t give any assurances over the future of the museum building but said: “Prior to me coming in, there were no routes explored.

“I’ve already got officers to explore routes and give options with regards to what we can do to make sure that we keep an important part of our history.

“I’m trying everything that I can to make sure the building is protected, that our heritage is protected.”

Asked what her message was to the public concerned over the future of the museum, Clr Harvey said: “As a resident and somebody who’s born and bred in Huddersfield and somebody who cares about our history, I am doing everything that I can to explore every route.

“I won’t just accept that something is closing when it has got great potential and is integral to our history and our identity. So leave it with me…”