THE National Media Museum could be in line for a £1million boost from Bradford Council to help secure its future.

But the Council has been warned that without the cash, the museum's future could be plunged back into doubt once again.

Last year, the Telegraph & Argus ran a Stop the Cut campaign to help save the National Media Museum from the funding axe, which was supported by thousands of people, among them luminaries from the world of film.

Its bosses have since come up with a new business plan to boost its viability, which would see it focusing more on the sciences.

They have now asked for £1 million over three years from the Council to help fund a new science-based learning programme at the museum, aimed at inspiring the next generation of film makers, digital designers, technologists, scientists and engineers.

The Council's Executive will meet next week to decide on this request.

But a report by the Council's finance director, Stuart McKinnon-Evans, warns that a decision not to grant the money "would put the future of the National Media Museum back into doubt with no strategy to secure that future".

Bradford Council Leader, Councillor David Green (Lab), said: "We have always said that the Council would be prepared to consider a financial injection on condition that the Science Museum Group approved a business plan that would secure the continued presence of the National Media Museum in Bradford, including levering in funding from a range of organisations and commercial sponsors.

"When the National Media Museum was facing potential closure, thousands of local people, as well as national celebrities, supported the campaign to save it because the economic, educational and cultural benefits of the museum being based in Bradford are enormous."

The director of the National Media Museum, Jo Quinton-Tulloch, said: "If it were to go ahead, the funding would support a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based learning programme at the museum."

She said £1 million of investment had already been confirmed from the Science Museum Group, the body which runs the National Media Museum, to develop a new interactive gallery focused on these STEM skills.

Councillor Simon Cooke, deputy leader of the Conservatives at Bradford Council, said they were backing the investment, while Lib Dem leader Councillor Jeanette Sunderland queried how the programme's success - and therefore the council's value for money - would be measured.