SEVERAL museums across East Lancashire have missed out on a major grant which would have helped to promote them to a wider audience.

Pennine Lancashire Museums had made a bid to the Arts Council for Major Partner Museums funding, totalling £1.5million over the next three years.

The approach was made on behalf of Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Gawthorpe Textiles Collection at Gawthorpe Hall, Haworth Art Gallery, Helmshore Mills Textile Museum, Queen Street Mill Textile Museum, Rossen-dale Museum, Turton Tower and Towneley Hall. If successful, it would have allowed the eight locations to work together to examine innovative programmes to generate more income from group visits. And supporters were keen to develop the existing schools and education offering, and explore ways of reducing energy costs so that the ventures would become more viable.

But council bosses in Burnley, who co-ordinated the bid on behalf of the Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn and Rossendale authorities, have confirmed that the application did not find favour with the national funder.

Coun Bea Foster, Burnley Council's portfolio holder for leisure and culture, said in an executive report: “The Major Partners Museum grant application to the Arts Council was not successful. We are awaiting feedback from the Arts Council before considering further funding applications."

Previously, the museums partnership has a good track record of joint ventures with the consortium receiving strategic funding from the Arts Council in October 2012 to create 'Welcome' features at the venues.

The wider consortium also includes Clitheroe Castle Museum and The Whitaker museum and art gallery in Rawtenstall.