Whithorn Trust could close due to £10,500 shortfall
Cuts to museums and heritage sites continue across UK
The Whithorn Trust in south west Scotland is one of a number of heritage institutions in the UK under threat due to ongoing cuts to public spending.
The Trust, which oversees important Iron Age and Bronze Age sites, the ruins of Scotland’s earliest Christian settlement and an adjoining discovery centre, has been threatened with imminent closure after council cuts left it facing a £10,500 budget shortfall.
Dumfries and Galloway Council recently slashed its budget and delegated funding decisions to local area committees, putting cultural organisations in more direct competition with sports centres and other leisure services.
The Wigtownshire Area Committee subsequently decided to allocate just over £32,000 - 30% of its core funding - to the Trust for 2013/14, compared to £46,000 last year.
The heritage site attracts 7,500 visitors a year and is estimated to be worth over £500,000 to the local economy. Closure would also result in the loss of seven jobs and affect future archaeological excavations.
A petition has been launched calling on the committee to reverse its decision.
Campaigners argue that the site is nationally significant and should be part of Scotland’s core museum provision.
Meanwhile, museums in Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable have been saved from partial closure after several Conservative councillors in Canterbury City Council broke ranks in a vote on whether to shut several local museums for five months of the year.
A report indicated the museums were costing too much per visitor and that seasonal closure would save the council £65,000. The move would have led to a third of staff being made redundant.
Lib Dem councillor Alex Perkins, who opposed the plans, said the council should focus on boosting visitor numbers rather than closing the museums.
In Herefordshire, campaigners recently succeeded in halting the council’s proposal to slash museum funding by 100% in 2013-14. The cut would have forced the closure of five museums and a mobile museum service in the county.
One campaigner warned however that the future for museum funding remained uncertain and the council's proposal was "merely kicked into the long grass”.
The Museums Association is currently running a UK-wide cuts survey. Click here to tell us how cuts are affecting your museum.
The Trust, which oversees important Iron Age and Bronze Age sites, the ruins of Scotland’s earliest Christian settlement and an adjoining discovery centre, has been threatened with imminent closure after council cuts left it facing a £10,500 budget shortfall.
Dumfries and Galloway Council recently slashed its budget and delegated funding decisions to local area committees, putting cultural organisations in more direct competition with sports centres and other leisure services.
The Wigtownshire Area Committee subsequently decided to allocate just over £32,000 - 30% of its core funding - to the Trust for 2013/14, compared to £46,000 last year.
The heritage site attracts 7,500 visitors a year and is estimated to be worth over £500,000 to the local economy. Closure would also result in the loss of seven jobs and affect future archaeological excavations.
A petition has been launched calling on the committee to reverse its decision.
Campaigners argue that the site is nationally significant and should be part of Scotland’s core museum provision.
Meanwhile, museums in Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable have been saved from partial closure after several Conservative councillors in Canterbury City Council broke ranks in a vote on whether to shut several local museums for five months of the year.
A report indicated the museums were costing too much per visitor and that seasonal closure would save the council £65,000. The move would have led to a third of staff being made redundant.
Lib Dem councillor Alex Perkins, who opposed the plans, said the council should focus on boosting visitor numbers rather than closing the museums.
In Herefordshire, campaigners recently succeeded in halting the council’s proposal to slash museum funding by 100% in 2013-14. The cut would have forced the closure of five museums and a mobile museum service in the county.
One campaigner warned however that the future for museum funding remained uncertain and the council's proposal was "merely kicked into the long grass”.
The Museums Association is currently running a UK-wide cuts survey. Click here to tell us how cuts are affecting your museum.