A WEAPONS museum which only opened a few years ago desperately needs £60,000 to stop it from closing.

Firepower, The Museum of the Royal Artillery in Woolwich, needs cash immediately to help bridge a funding gap.

Royal Artillery Museum Limited (RAML) has applied to Greenwich Council for a grant, which is due to be considered at a cabinet committee meeting today.

According to a council report, Firepower, which opened in 2001 in the Royal Arsenal, needs it "as a matter of urgency to meet salaries and wages".

It says: "The museum has not been able to achieve sustainability and has now reached such a critical position in its funding that it had to consider a closure option.

"For the period October to December 2007, it has a shortfall of £120k."

The Royal Artillery Regiment, which left its base in Woolwich in the summer, has provided it with interim funding of £60,000 and RAML has approached the council for the same amount.

A summit is also due to be held today to discuss what needs to be done to improve visitor numbers - chaired by the director general of the Imperial War Museum.

Eileen Noon, chief operating officer at Firepower, said the funding gap was due to problems with fundraising.

The museum, which has the Queen as its patron, is planning to work with the Heritage Centre next door to create a Royal Arsenal Heritage Quarter.

But because the venture has not been finalised, this has affected their capacity to fundraise for the museum.

"Our future isn't entirely certain," she said.

The museum was one of the first tenants on the Royal Arsenal site in May 2001, which was one of the most important centres in the world for munitions manufacture.

"It's important it stays on the site," said Mrs Noon.

She said the aim of the summit was to broaden the exhibition at the museum, "bringing in more people-based stories".

Firepower costs around £900,000 each year to run. The cash comes from entrance fees, trading income such as the coffee shop, organisations which rent out parts of the museum, Greenwich Council and the Royal Artillery Regiment.

Greenwich Council has already given the museum £125,000 for 2007/08.

But the report says: "Additional resources are required for RAML to prevent the closure of the Firepower museum due to their projected cash flow deficit for the period to December 2007 and for the period January 2008 to December 2008."

Mrs Noon said: "The Royal Artillery Museum and the Royal Regiment of Artillery are very grateful for the continuing support from Greenwich borough.

"They hope that the borough will endorse the proposal for a further grant in order to take forward the plans to develop the Royal Arsenal Heritage Quarter.

"This in turn will help to develop the quarter as a heritage attraction for visitors to Woolwich."

Councillor Nigel Fletcher, Conservative spokesman for culture, said: ""We've been warning about the problems at Firepower for years, so this latest bail-out is worrying.

"With the Royal Artillery having moved out of the borough we can't afford to let the museum close. Our military heritage is a crucial asset, and should be a major part of bringing visitors to the area."

He added: "I'm glad the museum and its partners are looking at broadening what they offer, but this should be a much higher priority for the council.

"With the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Docks coinciding with the Olympics in 2012, there are huge opportunities if we can grasp them."

According to the museum's website, the Royal Artillery Museum has been open to the public since 4 May 1820, a record believed to be unrivalled by any other military museum.

In May 2001 the collection of artillery was moved to the new premises within the gates of the Royal Arsenal and opened under the rebadged name of Firepower, The Museum of the Royal Artillery.