Torquay Museum warns it may close if 42% cut goes ahead
Museum says it has "slipped through the funding cracks"
Torquay Museum in Devon has warned that it faces a “catastrophe” if Torbay Council goes ahead with a proposed 42% cut to its museums grant for 2015-16.
The 170-year-old independent museum receives an annual grant of £76,500 from Torbay Council that accounts for a substantial part of its core income.
The council is currently undertaking a public consultation on budget plans that include cutting a further £20,000 from its 2015-16 museums grant, which is also shared by Brixham Museum.
This follows a previous £20,000 cut agreed by the council earlier this year without public consultation, and means the total grant would be almost halved next year.
Torquay Museum is home to several collections of regional and national significance, including the social history of rural Devon and an archaeological cave collection described as the most important in the UK outside London.
The museum has attracted 35% more visitors over the past five years and had been in the process of applying for Designation status before the scheme was suspended for review last year.
Barry Chandler, the museum's engagement and collections manager, said: “It’s pretty much catastrophic for us because we’re already on knife edge. The council grant is our only fixed, guaranteed source of income - the rest comes from admissions, which are very variable. It will be very difficult to keep the doors open at all and we’re running out of options.”
The museum has high fixed running costs and also suffered storm and water damage in the floods that hit the county earlier this year. It is in the process of a restructure and has already reduced its staff to six part-time posts.
Chandler said the museum had also suffered from being overlooked for Major Partner Museum funding and unable to apply to the Designation fund.
He said: “We’re rejected [by funders] because we don’t have enough resources, but it’s a vicious circle being cut off from funding because the door is then closed to it in future. It’s not that we don’t have audiences or important collections, it’s that we’ve suffered from a complete lack of infrastructure.”
“We want to spread some awareness about how we’ve reached this point to help [the sector] understand how a big museum can slip through the funding cracks.”
The museum is planning to launch a campaign to reverse the cut in the coming weeks.
Hull votes to proceed with cuts
Hull City Council is to go ahead with a £150,000 cut to its heritage budget despite receiving a written petition of over 9,000 signatures opposing the move.
The cut has already resulted in the Hands on History Museum, which is housed in the childhood school of anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce, being closed to walk-in visitors, as well as reductions in opening hours at Hull History Centre and the Spurn Lightship.
Unison, the union representing staff at the venues, believes that the council has the capacity to reverse the budget cut after announcing a £1.7m underspend for its last financial year.
Campaigners also argue that cutting the museums will damage Hull’s reputation ahead of its tenure as City of Culture 2017.
Museum staff, union representatives and supporters presented their case to councillors last week at a packed public meeting. But the Labour-run council voted to proceed with the cut.
Campaigner and local historian Mike Covell said: “The council had a debate but it was quite a farce. Each party blamed the others and there was a lot of back and forth, but in the end they ruled against us. It was very disappointing.”
Covell said campaigners have one last chance to reverse the cuts because a separate digital petition could compel the council to hold another debate if it attracts enough support.
He said: “We’re fighting on. We’ve been getting massive support from around the country.”
Links
Hull petition
Cuts Survey 2014 - how are cuts affecting your museum?
Correction
01.08.2014
The written petition attracted 9,000 signatures; the 18,000 figure previously reported referred to combined written and digital petitions. Some details removed pending clarification for Hull County Council. Also amended to clarify the connection between the Hands on History Museum and William Wilberforce.
The 170-year-old independent museum receives an annual grant of £76,500 from Torbay Council that accounts for a substantial part of its core income.
The council is currently undertaking a public consultation on budget plans that include cutting a further £20,000 from its 2015-16 museums grant, which is also shared by Brixham Museum.
This follows a previous £20,000 cut agreed by the council earlier this year without public consultation, and means the total grant would be almost halved next year.
Torquay Museum is home to several collections of regional and national significance, including the social history of rural Devon and an archaeological cave collection described as the most important in the UK outside London.
The museum has attracted 35% more visitors over the past five years and had been in the process of applying for Designation status before the scheme was suspended for review last year.
Barry Chandler, the museum's engagement and collections manager, said: “It’s pretty much catastrophic for us because we’re already on knife edge. The council grant is our only fixed, guaranteed source of income - the rest comes from admissions, which are very variable. It will be very difficult to keep the doors open at all and we’re running out of options.”
The museum has high fixed running costs and also suffered storm and water damage in the floods that hit the county earlier this year. It is in the process of a restructure and has already reduced its staff to six part-time posts.
Chandler said the museum had also suffered from being overlooked for Major Partner Museum funding and unable to apply to the Designation fund.
He said: “We’re rejected [by funders] because we don’t have enough resources, but it’s a vicious circle being cut off from funding because the door is then closed to it in future. It’s not that we don’t have audiences or important collections, it’s that we’ve suffered from a complete lack of infrastructure.”
“We want to spread some awareness about how we’ve reached this point to help [the sector] understand how a big museum can slip through the funding cracks.”
The museum is planning to launch a campaign to reverse the cut in the coming weeks.
Hull votes to proceed with cuts
Hull City Council is to go ahead with a £150,000 cut to its heritage budget despite receiving a written petition of over 9,000 signatures opposing the move.
The cut has already resulted in the Hands on History Museum, which is housed in the childhood school of anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce, being closed to walk-in visitors, as well as reductions in opening hours at Hull History Centre and the Spurn Lightship.
Unison, the union representing staff at the venues, believes that the council has the capacity to reverse the budget cut after announcing a £1.7m underspend for its last financial year.
Campaigners also argue that cutting the museums will damage Hull’s reputation ahead of its tenure as City of Culture 2017.
Museum staff, union representatives and supporters presented their case to councillors last week at a packed public meeting. But the Labour-run council voted to proceed with the cut.
Campaigner and local historian Mike Covell said: “The council had a debate but it was quite a farce. Each party blamed the others and there was a lot of back and forth, but in the end they ruled against us. It was very disappointing.”
Covell said campaigners have one last chance to reverse the cuts because a separate digital petition could compel the council to hold another debate if it attracts enough support.
He said: “We’re fighting on. We’ve been getting massive support from around the country.”
Links
Hull petition
Cuts Survey 2014 - how are cuts affecting your museum?
Correction
01.08.2014
The written petition attracted 9,000 signatures; the 18,000 figure previously reported referred to combined written and digital petitions. Some details removed pending clarification for Hull County Council. Also amended to clarify the connection between the Hands on History Museum and William Wilberforce.