Abbot House in Dunfermline will close next month after years of financial problems.
The ancient capital’s oldest building was saved from closure two and a half years ago. But despite a major restructure and the sale of its car park to Fife Council for £140,000, Abbot House Heritage Centre Trust could not make it financially viable.
Opened 20 years ago, it was gifted to trustees by Carnegie Dunfermline Trust (CDT).
A clause was drawn up to put CDT and Fife Council in charge in the case of financial collapse.
In a joint statement, the two bodies said: “It has not been possible to endorse the current operational model of Abbot House on the basis of the ongoing serious financial history and the current projections.
“Over the years this operation has been in receipt of various bailouts and loans with the most recent being a further grant of £10,000 from Fife Council in 2012/13 to enable the heritage trust to cancel out their entrance fee as they felt this was preventing local people from making use of the facility.
“A study of the financial records show that their auditors have seen fit to post a specific expression of concern on their audited accounts for the financial year 2013 which state clearly that the business model was flawed and unsustainable. Further significant losses were recorded for the following year.”
In February 2013, losses of £38,000 were revealed for the previous year and £20,000 for the year before that. Visitor numbers had also plummeted.
Actively involved in establishing the heritage centre was former Lord-Lieutenant of Fife, Margaret Dean.
She said: “I’m very sorry that Abbot House is to close because it was opened with such a great deal of goodwill.
“It has been such a success and so many people put a lot of hard work and love into it.”
Dunfermline MSP Cara Hilton added: “It is regrettable that, despite the very best efforts of all concerned, Abbot House is to close next month.
“The sheer volume of donations that flooded in when news of its possible closure broke earlier this year shows just how strongly our community felt about keeping the museum open, so this announcement will come as a huge disappointment to many.
“The people of Dunfermline will now rightly expect Fife Council and Carnegie Dunfermline Trust to use their period of consultation wisely in order to preserve the long-term future of this historic building.”