Canterbury City Council wants to hand control of the Marlowe Theatre to a charitable trust and close the city’s heritage museum, it has been revealed.

The bold plans were announced this afternoon by authority chiefs as part of a radical shake-up.

If approved, the 1,200-seat Marlowe– which reopened in 2011 after a £25 million rebuild – will be managed by an independent trust, but remain under council ownership.

Bosses say the move has been on the cards since the theatre replaced the old 1933 building and will open up more funding streams available to charities, including from donors, trusts and foundations.

It would also allow access to a number of tax benefits not available to the council, which currently subsidises the loss-making Marlowe to the tune of £158,000 a year.

It is understood the changes will not result in any redundancies at the theatre, which employs between 200 and 250 people a year.

Details of the proposal are in a special report which also outlines plans to close Canterbury Heritage Museum in Stour Street.

Its key exhibits and artefacts - including Bagpuss, Canterbury Cross, the Becket Tapestry and Rupert Bear - would move to the council-owned Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, where entry is free.

The museum building would then be managed by the Marlowe as an arts centre, providing a permanent home for its youth theatre, community workshops, education and new writing programmes.

The decision to propose the museum’s closure is set against a backdrop of falling visitor numbers, with fewer than 11,000 people going through its doors in 2015.

Council leader Simon Cook said: “It opens up a new opportunity to repurpose the museum building, creating a different type of offer for the district based on a wider range of activities that will enhance community access to heritage and the arts.

“The Marlowe Lab work would breathe new life into the building and see its doors opened to new audiences and participants in cultural projects.”

As part of the reshuffle, artefacts moved to the Beaney will likely be displayed in a new family gallery.

The council is also backing calls to move the historic Invicta steam engine out of Canterbury Heritage Museum to a new home in Whitstable – a plan which has support in the town and from the engine’s owner, The Transport Trust.

Some items, such as the Joseph Conrad collection, would remain at Stour Street.

Cllr Cook said: “The proposals for the museums service would therefore not only deliver savings, but also provide better and free access to relocated collections items and create better conditions for the future development of the service.”

The changes to the museum service will be debated by the council’s community committee on Wednesday (Jan 25).

If agreed, a public consultation will start in February, with a report back to the committee for a decision later in the year.

The meeting takes place in the Guildhall at 7pm and is open to the public.