CHARITABLE trusts could be set up to run three visitor attractions.

Durham County Council is looking at the idea because it could enable Killhope Museum, in Weardale, the Durham Light Infantry Museum (DLI) and Durham Art Gallery, in Durham City, and Binchester Roman Fort, near Spennymoor, to tap into sources of funding for badly-needed developments.

Killhope Museum, dedicated to lead mining, opened in 1991 and has won several awards, but visitor numbers have fallen from 40,000 to just over 21,000 last year.

There are plans for a £3.5m visitor centre that would need funding from various bodies, including the Heritage Lottery Fund and OneNorth-East.

The DLI Museum attracts more than 40,000 visitors every year and there are plans for a new building to house various collections, while Binchester Fort is visited by up to 4,000 people during the six months a year it opens. There are plans to spend £1.5m on improved visitor services.

The county council is responsible for all three attractions, but the council's cabinet has been told that if trusts were set up to run them they could attract outside funding for developments that would draw more visitors.

Rachael Shimmin, director of adult and community services, said: "They would continue to play a significant role in the county's tourism offer.

"Development would also help preserve access to the county's heritage. The alternative in each case is, at best, that the facilities continue as they are, but it is far more likely that each one would decline.

"This could lead to closure of the facilities with the adverse effect on tourism, loss of jobs and perceived failure by the county council."