Museums in Worcester will soon be run from the Guildhall instead of County Hall.

Running the three museums in the city, The Commandery, the county museum at Hartlebury Castle and the city art gallery and museum in Foregate Street comes under a shared services agreement between Worcester City Council, and Worcestershire county council.

Previously it has been ‘hosted’ at county hall, but it will now be taken on by the city council, with some staff transferring.

City council officer David Sutton told councillors at the city councils’ Communities Committee. “This change will not be visible to the public. The branding Museums Worcestershire, which is very successful, will continue.

“But museums will become more significant hosted at the city council with a budget of £20 million compared to the county council’s £324m budget.”

There will be a one-off cost of the transfer, mainly for IT, which will cost the city council £20,000 and the county council £4,000.