Campaigners fight ‘misguided’ plans to close local authority museums

As councils finalise their budgets for the coming year, a number of museums are at risk of closure amid worsening pressures on local authority finances.

A campaign has been launched to save Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall, which Leeds City Council is proposing to close in order to save £160,000.

The council is also proposing to introduce an admission fee for local residents to access the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey, which are currently free to enter for those living in Leeds. A “pay what you can” scheme is being considered for other council-run venues, including Leeds City Museum and Leeds Art Gallery.

The Abbey House Museum, which opened in 1927, features three replica 19^th-century Victorian streets with authentically recreated shops, pub and houses, along with childhood galleries, a temporary exhibition space and a display of the original gatehouse of Kirkstall Abbey.

More than 4,800 people have so far signed a petition urging the Labour-run council to not to close the venue.

The Friends of Leeds City Museums group has offered to pay for better marketing to help boost the museum’s visitor numbers, which have fallen in the three years since the pandemic and stood at just over 39,000 in 2023/24.

However the group says its offer has so far been refused. At a full council meeting this week, Friends chairman John Luxton told the council that "closing our much-loved Abbey House Museum is misguided and will cost the council far more than is saved", according to the BBC's Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Luxton pointed out that the city’s museum service currently receives £1.6m a year from Arts Council England, and said this grant was at risk of being reduced if the closure went ahead. He also said accessible toilets had recently been installed at the venue and asked if that investment had been “money down the drain”.

He added: “Abbey House Museum is a much-loved facility in this centenary year, and the council should take the opportunity to let the world know what a gem there is to see here in Leeds, thereby encouraging visitors to spend money in museums and the city.”

Salma Arif, the council’s executive member for culture, said the closure proposal had "not been taken lightly" and emphasised that "no final decision has been made".

Arif also apologised to staff at the museum after the meeting heard that they had first found out about the planned closure on Facebook. “Staff should not have been put in this position", she said.

A public consultation on the plans is currently underway and closes on 23 January.

Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association, urged the council to reconsider the proposal. She said: “This is indicative of the pressure that civic museums are under across the UK. Whilst we appreciate that councillors are having to make difficult decisions, losing this much-loved museum will be a blow for the local community.

“In addition charging local residents for access to the abbey will inevitably lead to a drop off in visitors numbers and will further restrict local people’s access to their heritage. 

“We would urge Leeds City Council to think again and work with the museum service and local communities to find a solution that keeps these heritage asset open and accessible for all.”

Bristol museums under threat

Meanwhile, a draft plan to close three museums in Bristol has been described as “senseless” by Conservative councillor Mark Weston, leader of the opposition at Bristol City Council.

Weston has launched a petition against the plan, which would see the closure of Blaise Castle House Museum, Georgian House Museum and Red Lodge Museum in order to save £146,000. The council is also considering reducing opening hours at Bristol Archives.

Weston said closing the museums would not result in the forecasted savings due to the high costs of maintaining the listed buildings.

According to BristolLive, he said: “Together with Conservative colleagues, I shall vigorously oppose this senseless suggestion. I remain unconvinced that these closures would ever produce any real cash saving.

"The published figures of £142k for 25/26 represent a drop in the proverbial ocean of a reported £52m budget shortfall. The legal requirement to maintain these listed buildings means that there will still be an ongoing revenue cost without providing residents and visitors with any of the cultural, educational and social benefits derived from keeping them open.

“I hope that a sufficient number of members from the other parties will eventually be persuaded to drop this foolish and counterproductive proposition. It is essential that as much public pressure as possible is brought to bear on the issue. So, I urge people to please register their own objections by signing my ePetition.”

The proposals, which are not a formal part of the council’s draft budget at this stage, were due to be discussed at two finance sub-committee meetings on 15 and 16 January.

Hope for mothballed Caerphilly museum

There was better news this week for a museum in Wales that was mothballed before Christmas due to council cuts.

Llancaiach Fawr, a 16^th-century Tudor manor house, was shut on 24 December by Caerphilly County Borough Council, which is seeking to make £45m savings in the coming year due to a budget shortfall.

Twenty paid and 18 voluntary staff were let go from the venue as a result of the closure.

However, an agent, Avison Young, has now been appointed to begin marketing the museum to potential new operators. According to Nation Cymru, the council hopes new management will be found to run the site by April this year.

Speaking at a council meeting on 14 January, deputy council leader Jamie Pritchard said Llancaiach Fawr “offers so much potential for new operators”.

“What is certain is that the council will be looking for an operation that becomes a strong local economic driver that compliments the existing leisure and hospitality offers in the county borough,” he said.

“We will not simply be looking to award to the highest bidder, but we will consider the breadth of all bids to ensure the museum is reopened for the public.”

Pritchard added that “some very fruitful discussions with potential local operators have been held” over the future of Llancaiach Fawr.

Pritchard also confirmed to the meeting that the Blackwood Miner’s Institute would remain open after a successful funding application to the Arts Council of Wales.

The venue, a community arts centre and much-loved historic landmark, had been at risk of closure due to the withdrawal of council funding. A campaign against the closure was supported by the rock band Manic Street Preachers, whose members come from Blackwood, Caerphilly.

Another museum, New Tredegar’s Winding House Museum, remains at risk, however. The council is proposing to temporarily mothball the venue in order to save £93,000, but has said it will explore the possibility of community ownership.

A spokesperson for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “As outlined in the cabinet report published earlier this week, the council is facing a budget shortfall of around £66 million over the next three years.

“Therefore, a number of extremely difficult decisions will need to made in order to meet this significant financial challenge.”

A public consultation on the council's budget proposals will open on 22 January.