Hampshire cultural trust warns over museum closures
The trust says Hampshire county council's plan to cut funding to culture is "disproportionate".
Last updated 19th Sep 2023
Hampshire Cultural Trust has warned that the closure of multiple museum and arts venues across the county will be ‘inevitable’ should a proposed cut to its funding be agreed by Hampshire County Council.
The trust operates museums, art galleries and arts centres across Hampshire, including Milestones Museum in Basingstoke, Basing House, and The museum of the Iron Age at Andover.
It also manages, conserves and maintains Hampshire’s museum collections, one of the largest and most significant regional collections of historic artefacts in the country. The County Council is the trust’s largest funder, contributing £2.5 million per annum, but as part of its recent budget review, it is proposed that this funding will be cut by nearly 50%.
Paul Sapwell, Chief Executive at Hampshire Cultural Trust, said:
"We understand that like all local authorities Hampshire County Council is in an incredibly difficult position: they have a huge challenge to balance their budget. Although our funding accounts for just 0.1% of the council’s overall budget, we fully accept that we have to play our part in taking a reduction. But we urge Hampshire County Council not to view a disproportionate cut to the funding of culture in our county as a simple solution to immediate budget pressures.
“Since we were established in 2014, we have already absorbed a real-time 50% reduction in local authority funding and have replaced that revenue through increased sales and fundraising activity, as well as substantially reducing our costs. Despite this, we will always be particularly vulnerable in a budget review of this kind, as museums, galleries and arts centres are not a statutory responsibility for councils.
"But culture is essential to the identity and fabric of Hampshire, is integral to our local communities, to everyone’s quality of life. When times are tough, cultural experiences are so often seen as a ‘nice-to-have’, but stripping out what keeps people happy and healthy only saves money in the short term; it is well recognised that the pressure on health and social services only increases when services contributing to quality of life are cut.”
The trust is responsible for 2.5 million objects that tell the story of Hampshire’s unrivalled history, including unique items such as Jane Austen’s pelisse coat (the only known item of clothing that can be directly traced back to the author), an internationally significant collection of ceramics and a nationally important industrial heritage collection from giants of manufacturing, Thornycroft and Taskers.
Over 600,000 people visit trust venues every year, and 15,000 school pupils benefit from immersive education programmes. In addition, the charity’s many targeted projects reach vulnerable groups in local communities, including those living with dementia, people suffering from mental health challenges and young people who are not in mainstream education.
A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said:
“For a long time now, we’ve been very open about the huge financial pressures facing the County Council in the coming years – with an estimated budget shortfall of £132m by April 2025. Like many local authorities nationally our budgets are stretched to breaking point – because of high inflation, years of underfunding by central Government and growing demand for core services like social care for vulnerable children and adults as more people need our help.
“With such major budget constraints, we are having to consider very carefully how we can close this funding gap in future and regrettably, some very tough decisions are now needed on what the Authority can and cannot continue to do in future. We must look at all areas of our spending, including the range of both one-off funding and recurring grant funding we have provided over past years to support voluntary and not-for-profit organisations serving Hampshire communities – such as financial support awarded to the Hampshire Cultural Trust. We are committed to working closely with the Trust on the details in relation to the proposals and possible implications should plans be agreed.
“We are already working closely with the Trust to explore a more sustainable financial solution for them in future that would offer them more commercial freedom to generate their own income, independently from the County Council. This option could also mean that the Cultural Trust receives less funding from the Authority which would help towards us balancing our budgets and ensure available resources could be focused to support the most vulnerable people in Hampshire in the delivery of vital core services.”