I READ last week's front page story ("Review sparks jobs cuts anxiety") with disbelief and outrage. How can corporate director John Donnellon justify such vicious cutbacks to Lancaster's museums? The museums are jewels in the crown of tourism in Lancaster, being highly popular with locals and visitors alike. The delightful Cottage Museum is run at minimal cost and is a valuable educational resource for school visits. The City and Kings' Own Royal Regiment Museums are magnificent, the 18th century building (the old town hall) provides them with an ideal setting. Dr. Andrew White and his dedicated team have worked hard for many years to develop the City Museum to its present fine state and a large amount of grant money has been spent. Your article didn't mention the plans to cut the jobs of both the Head of the Museum Service and the Curator of the Kings Own Regiment Museum. Their expertise and experience are invaluabl. Who does John Donnellon think could competently relocate the collections in the town hall if his madcap scheme were to be adopted when this expertise has been lost? The Tourist Information Centre is already in a central location opposite the Castle; Dalton Square is not more central than Castle Hill. Focusing most attractions in Dalton Square will probably adversely affect the city's businesses. Tourists could conveniently "explore" Lancaster's heritage without strolling around the streets.

These historic buildings belong to the people of Lancaster, not to Mr Donnollen, the city council or the MBIs. The council holds them in trust, having no moral right to sell them. They would be lost to the public forever and city amenities would be the poorer. Shortsighted expediency and cultural vandalism doubtlessly appeal to an incompetent administration which has led us into moral as well as financial bankruptcy.

Neil Spencer Walton Ave Morecambe