Council seeks ‘long-term solution’ to keep Royal Cornwall Museum open

Cornwall Council says it is “committed to finding a way forward” with the Royal Cornwall Museum (RCM) in Truro after rejecting the museum’s bid for council funding.

RCM’s leadership team warned earlier this week that the institution was facing imminent closure after its application to the council’s new Cultural and Creative Investment Programme was turned down.

The four-year, £1.8m funding programme was introduced in May to replace the council’s existing cultural revenue grants scheme. Losing the bid has meant the abrupt withdrawal of the museum’s in-year council funding.

The museum, which is an independent charity, had requested £150,000 per year from the council towards its £600,000 annual budget.

Cornwall Council says the new scheme was heavily oversubscribed, with requests from 51 applicants totalling almost £7m. Cornwall councillor for culture, Carol Mould, said the museum’s bid “did not measure up”.  

RCM’s artistic director Bryony Robins said earlier this week that the museum was seeking urgent dialogue with the council. She said: “We are bewildered that after supporting our transformation and being so positive about the huge developments the museum has made, the council has now done this.

“Month by month we are seeing an increase in visitors, and an increase on what we saw before Covid, despite this being a really difficult time for museums.

“To stop funding during a financial year is unprecedented and leaves us unable to approach alternative funders and facing a very real threat of closure.

“This move is even more confusing because of the level of positive support the council has shown recently, supporting us in applying for national funding and making us central to their Town Fund bid.”

The museum’s executive director Jonathan Morton said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support in letters, emails, phone calls and on social media following the news that Cornwall Council have decided to remove funding to Cornwall’s museum after a 50-year funding relationship.

“The support for the museum from people across Cornwall and beyond has been incredible and reflects how people feel about their museum.”

In a subsequent statement, Cornwall Council said it “recognises the importance of the RCM to residents and visitors”.

The council said: “The RCM and Cornwall Council are committed to working together, alongside other partners, to find a long-term solution to keep the museum running, supported by appropriate funding.  

“In the short term, a meeting between the council and RCM to discuss the immediate impact of the change in the way that the council funds creative and culture organisations, through its new Culture and Creative Investment Programme, is being set up. 

“Then, over the summer, in a bid to find a sustainable solution to the funding needs of RCM, a meeting with other strategic partners will take place to develop a plan for the long-term future and success of the museum.”

Councillor Mould said: “When we announced the successful applicants to the Culture and Creative Investment Programme, which replaced the cultural revenue grants programme, we acknowledged that the change in emphasis and the objectively scored application process meant that some applicants would be disappointed not to be successful in their bid for council funding.

“This is no reflection on their excellent work in culture and the creative arts and we had already said we want to work with them to unlock other potential funding opportunities from partner organisations in the future.” 

She added: “Applications were invited to the new investment programme and it has become clear that this is not the appropriate funding stream to support the RCM. However, their work and their offer are clearly important to many in Cornwall and beyond and we want to work with them to find an alternative way forward.”

A spokeswoman for Cornwall Museums Partnership (CMP), the charity that represents Cornwall's museums, said it was a “very worrying and critical time for the leadership of RCM and their team”.

She said CMP had been in touch with the museum to offer support and is also in conversation with Cornwall Council and Arts Council England about a stakeholders meeting “to progress this issue and develop a shared understanding of the future”.

In a statement, CMP said: “The Royal Cornwall Museum team are key partners in the Cornwall Museums Partnership and we will work with them to explore any and all possible solutions to this distressing and uncertain situation.”

Truro MP Cherilyn Mackrory said the closure of the museum “would be a catastrophic loss to the people of Cornwall, and our young Cornish children”.

She said she had requested an urgent meeting with all stakeholders.

Prior to the funding announcement, RCM had been on the road to recovery after a difficult few years. In November 2019 the organisation made eight staff redundant and closed temporarily to “reboot”, citing declining income levels, low audience figures and urgent roof repairs.

It reopened in May 2021 following the Covid lockdowns. The organisation has reset its strategic direction and appointed a new dual leadership team made up of an executive director and artistic director.

A spokeswoman for the museum said: “Through a community-focused approach and by focusing on building sustainability, the museum is turning around. Visitor numbers are growing, a vibrant programme is in place and we have developed new ways of engaging with the community.”