FRIENDS of the Newport museum campaigning against its possible closure have attended detailed talks with Newport City Council leader Bob Bright.

President Professor Ray Howell and chairman Richard Frame, of Friends of Newport Museum and Art Gallery (FoNMAG), welcomed the opportunity to discuss the plans with Cllr Bright after being “disappointed” to see the museum included in next year’s budget proposals.

With savings of £10million of savings needing to be made, the council is considering closing the museum and art gallery building in John Frost Square and providing services at alternative locations across the city, which could include pop-up exhibitions.

An online petition to stop the closure of the current building has so far been signed by 1,086 people, with hundreds more signing a paper version.

Professor Howell said: “We recognise the difficult financial position the council is in, but it is only right that the FoNMAG act as a critical friend to the council.

“We were initially disappointed to see the museum included in the scope of the council’s budget proposals and were concerned that we had missed the opportunity to challenge this decision.

“The meeting confirmed that this is still a proposal that can be influenced and FoNMAG will take every opportunity to participate in the council’s consultation process.”

Councillor Bright said it is “vital” to preserve Newport Museum’s “world class exhibits”.

He added: “Newport has an extremely rich cultural heritage including its more recent Chartist history, as well as its connections with Roman times and the medieval ship.

“We confirmed at the meeting that the accumulated collections and donated pieces of work have never been at risk by this proposal. What we are looking at now is where (accumulated collections and donated pieces of work) they are safely stored and how they are publicly displayed and accessed in the context of severe financial pressures.”

Mr Frame said: “We still believe the city needs a central museum provision, but the detailed talks with the leader of the council and senior officers confirmed that a variety of options are genuinely being looked at to see if that wish can be achieved, even if the current building has to close.”

The vice-chairman of FoNMAG David Osmond also expressed concern about the reference library housed in the same building and suggested it be moved to the same location as the museum.

He said: “One of the thing we feel as a group, if its possible, the local collection side of the reference library, the local books, the manuscripts, photographs and family history, that would be better accommodated with the museum.

“It ties in much more with the museum than the Central Library.”

A council spokeswoman said: “If the proposal to close the central library building did go ahead then the council would consider where the best possible place to relocate the reference library would be.

“No decisions have been made on these options, and consultation on the council’s budget savings proposals is open until January 16, 2015.”