The axe could fall on one of Somerset's top museums as part of a £540,000 plan to cut costs.

North Somerset Museum in Weston-super-Mare is home to thousands of artefacts from the archaeology of the area and hosts a programme of popular temporary exhibitions.

North Somerset Council wants to save £540,00 next year and sacrificing the museum could help it reach that target. Executive councillors met on Tuesday to discuss the plans in detail but have yet to reach a final decision.

A report presented to members suggests that the museum, in Burlington Street, suffers low visitor numbers because of its backstreet location and is not as accessible to people in the area as it should be.

Council officers are proposing that the museum, which receives £235,000 a year in funding, should be closed completely and replaced with a touring exhibition that will visit schools and libraries, leaving the town without a permanent display of its heritage.

The report says: "The museum is operated fully in-house by the council. It is poorly situated and as a result attracts a relatively small number of visitors.

"It is perceived to be 'Weston-centric' rather than serving the full range of communities across North Somerset.

"A specialist adviser has been asked to test the feasibility of a range of options including redesigning the museum service so it no longer had a permanent set of displays and exhibitions in Weston-super-Mare towards a new service that provided touring exhibitions for all of North Somerset." The council has acknowledged that a free-entry policy introduced at the museum in the wake of the pier fire helped boost numbers and in turn saw revenue from its cafe and gift shop rise significantly. But it says this alone will not be enough to save the site from closure.

Weston's cultural services are not the only ones facing an overhaul to help the cash-strapped council.

Members are also reviewing the way in which the Playhouse Theatre is funded and the amount of money spent on adult social care.

The council says its reviews are examining services to ensure that they meet the needs of customers as well as being effective, cost-efficient and fit for purpose.

A council spokesman said: "The review board has not yet concluded its work, as it is still exploring long-term options."