The trust which runs the Millennium Galleries, Weston Park Museum, the Graves Gallery and Bishop's House found itself over budget because of the continuing debt from the restoration of the award-winning museum and the effects of the credit crunch.
Action has been taken to reduce costs, said chief executive Nick Dodd. "We have found various ways we can do that and that includes making exhibitions slightly smaller.

"The exhibition programme is planned way ahead so they will continue but where we might have looked at paying for additional exhibits to support the main show, that might not happen.

"So it's a difference of scale, the effects will be small."

There will also be less money spent on marketing and publicity for the shows, he added, and recruitment of additional staff will be reduced.

He insisted it was simply prudent housekeeping in the face of the current economic climate.

"Along with many ordinary people and organisations we have found it very hard to contain the recent rises in energy and building costs," he said.

"These costs have put unique pressure on our budgets through the winter and spring at a time when our income started to dip with the effects of the economic slowdown.

"Our budget is now reduced to cope with the continuing economic slowdown and to ensure we take a very cautious view of 2009."

Nevertheless it has been exacerbated by the fact that debts from the £17m restoration of Weston Park Museum have not yet been settled and have run over into the current year's budget.

This was not unexpected, he insisted. "It takes years and years for a project like that to be topped and tailed and finally paid off.

"We are in discussions with our funders about a debt carried over from the refurbishment and reopening of Weston Park which was always intended to be addressed with the final accounts for that project."

The full extent of the debt carried over was not yet known, said Mr Dodd, because final figures had not been calculated, but he anticipated the figure would be below £600,000.

"We have had a tough time as lots of others have. One of the things to bear in mind is that when people have less money to spend the fact that museums are free is a big benefit."