Local authorities

There is strong public support for local authority funding of museums, a survey has found.

YouGov research commissioned by Art Fund and the National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC) found that 74% of people said local government should provide at least half of its funding, with 45% saying that councils should provide most or all of it.

Meanwhile, 89% of UK adults think museums are important to UK culture, while 76% think local museums add value to their area.

Nearly half of those surveyed (47%) said that museums in the UK should be mostly or entirely funded by government. Only 3% said museums should be wholly funded by private investment or income generation.

The survey also found that 44% of people knew public funding for local museums had decreased since 2022, with only 9% thinking it had stayed the same and 4% thinking it had increased.

When asked how they would feel if their local museum were to close, 54% said they would feel disappointed, 41% would feel sad, 19% would be angry, and 16% would feel frustrated.

Campaigners have called on Shropshire Council to protect a charity-run art centre amid concerns that the local authority plans to sell the building.

English Bridge Workshop at Abbey Foregate has provided studio spaces for local artists and community groups since 1985. The building is council-owned but run by the charity Makespace CIC.

The charity says its trustees have been working with the council for several years to investigate the possibility of a community asset transfer, which would hand over ownership of the building to the charity.

However, the council, which is facing a £60m funding gap, has announced that "all plans for community use of the building are on hold".

Councillor Kate Halliday told Shropshire Star: "The English Bridge Workshop has been an invaluable asset for the community for decades. So many residents from Shrewsbury and beyond have attended gigs, meetings, events and classes in the building over the years. Many of the regular classes provide a lifeline for people."

Campaigners are hosting a public meeting on 20 May to "unite community members, artists, and historians to brainstorm ways to protect and celebrate" the centre.

An overdue report into ‘lessons learned’ during the costly refurbishment of Bristol Beacon concert hall will be published later this year, according to a council spokesperson. 

External auditors Grant Thornton had called on the council to issue a report "as soon as possible" before the completion of the Bristol Beacon project in November. But last summer, Bristol City Council admitted the full report would not be published until February 2024 - a deadline that has since passed.

Grant Thornton previously criticised the council for “underestimating the complexity and difficulty” of the build, which resulted in spiralling costs and a disagreement between the local authority and the trust that runs the building.

The initial budget for the building, which originally opened in 1867 and was previously known as Colston Hall, was £49m, of which £10m was due to come from Bristol City Council.

However, the final cost was £132m, including £83.9m from the council, £44m raised by music education charity Bristol Music Trust, and £22m from Arts Council England.

The venue is owned by the local authority but is run by Bristol Music Trust on a 30-year lease arrangement with no break clause.

Marvin Reese, former Mayor of Bristol who left office last week after his post was abolished, previously alluded to difficulties in the project run by Bristol City Council, saying it was a “journey that’s taken many twists and turns along the way".

“Challenges in the shape of a building filled with unknown complexities and hidden secrets, a global pandemic, national cost-of-living crisis and the pressure this is putting on the construction industry have all been navigated to get to this point,” said Reese.

In April 2023, the council announced it wished to "identify alternative operational models" for the venue to ensure it "receives value for money for its investment."

This prompted Arts Council England to seek "urgent" talks with the council, following which Bristol Music Trust remained at the helm of the building.

Council management had said that a review exercise into the project began at the end of June 2023 and was “designed to provide critical lessons learned and stimulate important insights".

In an update, a spokesperson for Bristol City Council said, " A lessons-learned report is being prepared and will be available later this year [2024].”

Last week, it was announced that Bristol Beacon would receive almost £2m from the Department for Education to become the lead music hub for the West of England.

The Beacon, which already delivers a citywide music education programme to over 30,000 children and young people in Bristol, plans to spend £1,455,692 on coordinating music education in the local area and £478,183 on new musical instruments, equipment and technology for young people.

Cuts to a wide range of services across Birmingham including arts and culture are based on "imagined data", it has been claimed.

According to The Guardian, sources inside the Labour-led council said the local authority’s finances were in disarray as a result of a faulty IT system rollout and a £760m equal pay liability bill, which led it to effectively declare bankruptcy, and could be hugely overstated.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Paul Tilsley said: “The figure of £760m is a figment of someone’s imagination, in my opinion. If you look at the estimated claimants, the numbers are just incompatible, it defies financial imagination.

“And this figure is ruining this city. We’re going to see the real basic infrastructure of the city, things like libraries, closed and sold off, and when they’re gone they can’t be replicated. I’m seeing the heart ripped out of my city.”

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “In early 2023, there were a variety of estimates of equal pay liability, which were wide-ranging and clearly needed further work. Further detailed analysis was requested and subsequently the findings were shared with the public and all members of this council.

“Since then the council has worked tirelessly with trade unions and the commissioners to agree a job evaluation scheme that will help to end the equal pay liability once and for all.

“A budget for the next two years was approved by full council in March. We must now focus on how we spend what we have in the most effective way, and we are committed to getting the basics right across a whole range of service areas.”

The Swan Theatre in Worcester has been added to a list of organisations set to benefit from a share of £5m of Levelling Up funding after Worcester City Council (WCC) was given an extension on submitting its spending plans.

The council was originally expected to deliver its final plan on 10 May, but the deadline has been moved to 3 June.

The original spending strategy included awarding £1.6m to create space for more events and exhibitions at the Corn Exchange, £900,000 to create a sustainable events venue at Pitchcroft and £742,000 to refurbish the Gheluvelt Park bandstand.

In its updated proposal, which was put before the Policy and Resources Committee on 23 April, the council has added a £155,000 grant to The Swan Theatre to improve the foyer and accessibility, including a new lift, accessible toilet, and changing facilities.

Just two years ago, The Swan was saved from closure after Worcester City Council scrapped plans to sell it off to fund a multimillion-pound project to build a new arts venue in the city on the site of the listed Scala Theatre and Corn Exchange buildings.

Other projects added to WCC's Levelling Up proposals include £65,000 for a mobile music vehicle £65,000, £350,000 to acquire a building as office and storage space for the Scala, and £22,000 on a portable outdoor stage.

A 19th-Century Hampshire windmill that houses a display of historic farming artefacts has closed following the withdrawal of council funding from its operator.

Eastleigh Borough Council terminated its funding agreement with Hampshire Culture Trust (HCT) in February last year.

The trust then requested that Hampshire County Council (HCC) allow it to end operations at the Grade II-listed Bursledon Windmill.

HCT has been responsible for providing the council’s museum and heritage services since 2014, the same year that the windmill had its wind shaft and sails replaced following a £94,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

A report found that the trust had made efforts to keep the windmill open by diversifying revenue through grants, donations or commercial opportunities but said it would not be "sufficient to support the financial viability of the venue".

The historic items displayed at the windmill may now be transferred to the authority or a new operator.

Earlier this year, HCT warned that five more venues, out of the 24 it operates, face closure after HCC, its primary funder, proposed reducing its annual funding from £2.5m to £1.9m by 2027.

The trust, an ACE National Portfolio Organisation, said Ashcroft Arts Centre in Fareham, Westbury Manor Museum and Eastleigh Museum are expected to shut early next year, while Curtis Museum in Alton and Andover Museum and the Museum of the Iron Age are facing withdrawal by 2026.