A REVIEW of the St Albans museums services looking at the possibility of building a new cultural hub in the city is to be carried out by next February. It is one of the recommendations from this month s meeting of St Albans Cabinet in the wake of the sett

A REVIEW of the St Albans museums services looking at the possibility of building a new cultural hub in the city is to be carried out by next February.

It is one of the recommendations from this month's meeting of St Albans Cabinet in the wake of the setting up of the New Museum for St Albans Campaign Group.

Cabinet is also recommending developing a vision for the museum service that will tell the story of life in the St Albans district over the past 2,000 years focussing on its social history and creating a framework for identifying investment priorities.

The New Museum for St Albans Campaign was formed earlier this year to push for the opening of a museum devoted to parts of the district's history which are not well represented at the moment.

At council level there is an awareness that the present displays are outdated and temporary exhibitions at the museums are staff intensive although they do prompt visitors to make a return visit.

There is also a belief that more use could be made of the post-Roman collections using parks and open spaces as well as the museums, the showing of public art, closer involvement with the Abbey and developing a "Museums without Walls" approach to demonstrate medieval, Elizabethan, Victorian and present day historic occasions.

Council leader Cllr Robert Donald, said he believed that in comparison with other cultural centres such as York and Bath, the city undersold itself.