THE Bowes museum at Barnard Castle has for too long been an undeveloped asset.

An underrated treasure house, it has struggled for many years because of inadequate funding. It has also found it hard to attract the visitors it should to cover its substantial running costs.

Its ownership by a local authority with other pressing matters - schools, social services, etc - on its mind has not helped. The case for it being owned, and funded, by the nation as a whole has been well made in the past but as yet its status remains firmly that of a "local attraction" in the minds of the cultural and heritage high-ups in London.

The lottery funding bid now being prepared by the museum's management acknowledges some of the shortcomings of the past. The "Swan Experience" sounds tacky but in fact is simply the museum's attempt to capitalise on arguably its finest (certainly its best known) asset.

The introduction of graphic panels to explain how the museum came to be through the extraordinary philanthropy of the Bowes family is also a great step forward, if not exactly rocket science in terms of modern museum presentation techniques.

Easily accessible information is essential to broaden the museum's appeal: the days when people would be prepared to find their own way round a place like the Bowes armed with just a wordy guide book are long gone.

The museum has to be modernised to survive and it is to be hoped its bid for funding will be successful