Jersey museums facing closure
Funding deficit of £1m threatens two museums
Jersey Heritage Trust has closed Hamptonne Country Life Museum to visitors to help plug an annual funding deficit of more than £1m.
The trust will keep Jersey Maritime Museum open for now, but its future depends on a funding decision this summer by the States of Jersey government.
Hamptonne will not reopen until a one-off “discovery day” in August. Redundancy consultation affecting 40 posts began in April.
The museums are funded mainly by admission fees, which are down because of a long-term fall in Jersey’s tourism numbers.
The number of visitors to Jersey Heritage Trust’s six sites have halved from about 365,000 in 1997, when they generated about £1m a year.
Jersey Heritage Trust director Jonathan Carter said: “The Heritage Trust was set up when the tourism industry was buoyant. It is no longer sustainable. We earn about 47 per cent of what it costs to run the service.”
Carter said Jersey had too many competing attractions. “Hamptonne will open only for specific events, but we will maintain the buildings,” he said. “We have agreed a funding package for this year in which we will make 10 per cent savings on budget. The maritime museum is opening this year, but we do not have funding for 2011 and beyond.”
The trust is seeking a capital investment grant from the States of Jersey because it does not qualify for Heritage Lottery Funds or money from other UK sources.
Carter said the trust’s museums had an annual revenue deficit of £550,000 and capital investment requirements of £500,000. The trust has agreed to save £350,000 this year, just under 10 per cent of budget.
“That is the maximum we can do without permanently closing sites,” he said.
The States of Jersey will decide on funding for the trust in the summer. But the government, which last year granted £2m to the trust plus £288,000 in emergency funding, is seeking a 10 per cent cut across all budgets.
Carter said an independent review had concluded that the two museums performed commercial activities well, but that there was no scope for significant growth from events such as weddings.
The trust will keep Jersey Maritime Museum open for now, but its future depends on a funding decision this summer by the States of Jersey government.
Hamptonne will not reopen until a one-off “discovery day” in August. Redundancy consultation affecting 40 posts began in April.
The museums are funded mainly by admission fees, which are down because of a long-term fall in Jersey’s tourism numbers.
The number of visitors to Jersey Heritage Trust’s six sites have halved from about 365,000 in 1997, when they generated about £1m a year.
Jersey Heritage Trust director Jonathan Carter said: “The Heritage Trust was set up when the tourism industry was buoyant. It is no longer sustainable. We earn about 47 per cent of what it costs to run the service.”
Carter said Jersey had too many competing attractions. “Hamptonne will open only for specific events, but we will maintain the buildings,” he said. “We have agreed a funding package for this year in which we will make 10 per cent savings on budget. The maritime museum is opening this year, but we do not have funding for 2011 and beyond.”
The trust is seeking a capital investment grant from the States of Jersey because it does not qualify for Heritage Lottery Funds or money from other UK sources.
Carter said the trust’s museums had an annual revenue deficit of £550,000 and capital investment requirements of £500,000. The trust has agreed to save £350,000 this year, just under 10 per cent of budget.
“That is the maximum we can do without permanently closing sites,” he said.
The States of Jersey will decide on funding for the trust in the summer. But the government, which last year granted £2m to the trust plus £288,000 in emergency funding, is seeking a 10 per cent cut across all budgets.
Carter said an independent review had concluded that the two museums performed commercial activities well, but that there was no scope for significant growth from events such as weddings.