VISITOR numbers at one of Burnley's premier attractions are plummeting - and council officers say the introduction of entrance charges is partly to blame.

Since a high point four years ago when Towneley Hall boasted about 130,000 visitors, the numbers of people going to the museum and art gallery has dropped to less than 75,000.

The steady decline over the last four years has been blamed on fewer exhibits after of the loss of two curators, reduced opening hours, wet weather and the football World Cup.

But a council report also says that the recent decline can be blamed partly on the introduction of an entrance fee.

In April last year a charge of £2.50 for non-residents of Burnley was introduced with the aim of generating income of £25,486 to meet the 2006/07 savings target for Towneley. The charge increased to £3.50 from April 1 this year.

The council has also introduced car parking charges at Towneley.

But, despite the fall in visitor numbers, museum chiefs are optimistic that the £3million Lottery funded restoration of the attraction, which includes landscaping and improvements to carparking and the cafe, will bring visitor numbers back up.

Burnley Council's head of green spaces Simon Goff said: "Visitor numbers rise (following the opening of the museum extension in 2001) to a peak in 2003/04 followed by a decline in each of the subsequent years.

"A decline in recorded visitor numbers was taking place prior to the introduction of charges and may be linked to a number of budget savings that were made."